Blue Blur: The Sonic the Hedgehog Adventure
by LiamKypaiWalcort
Summary: After a two year break, Sonic and his friends return to action as Dr. Eggman emerges with more sinister plans than ever before. A vast world lies at their fingertips with new experiences and friends awaiting them at every turn. New enemies and threats surface as the world powers clash with each other for supremacy and greed. It's a story filled with endless possibilities! (HIATUS)
1. EGG Files arc: To The Emerald Republic!

"Sonic, these attacks by Eggman are getting more and more dangerous! Too many innocent people are dying faster than we can evacuate them!" Tails yelled as he helped a bunch of injured civilians onto the loads of helicopters, away from the bombardments of Dr. Eggman's attacks.

"I know Tails! Just try your best to evacuate everyone! We'll do our best at this end!" Sonic yelled, destroying a couple of badniks afterwards.

Bombs and projectiles from Dr. Eggman's badniks destroyed the tall buildings in the city, with many civilians being trapped under the rubble. Chaos was everywhere as first responders tried their best to lend a hand to stop the mayhem. It was two years ago when Dr. Eggman unleashed a barrage of attacks on the city of Diallos, using his attack as a final trigger to have one last battle against Sonic and his friends to settle the score. The city suffered a terrible fate as it was left in ruins; much like Station Square was after the battle with Chaos some time before. Dr. Eggman's badniks had unleashed an incredible blitz of powerful and rapid attacks, quickly destroying the city and causing terror. Sonic and friends arrived about a half hour later, engaging in battle for nearly two hours; Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy battled against the badniks while Tails and Cream evacuated everyone. Unfortunately, although Sonic was able to defeat Dr. Eggman with one very powerful spin dash that took a special amount of time to charge up-needing Knuckles and Amy to hold him off while doing so-it wasn't enough to overturn the massive amount of casualties suffered at the hands of Dr. Eggman's wrath.

After the fight, Dr. Eggman escaped and went into hiding to never be seen again. The sight was depressing and disgusting for Sonic and his friends to behold, seeing bodies scattered across the ground with blood splattered all over their bodies and surface; Adults, Children, even pets-suffered the same demise. The destruction attracted attention from the national media of the United Federation, since it was all on their home soil. The government decided that as of that very moment, Dr. Eggman was wanted dead or alive-posting a bounty of over two hundred million dollars in accumulation for the debt that he owed in damages and casualties. Sonic and friends really lost their meaning to continue to fight and track him down after this fight; none of them had ever experienced such an event where so many people died on their watch, all of them felt responsible for what happened. They all decided afterwards that no longer would they continue to work together, and that they should all go their separate ways.

Two years later, Sonic and Tails are living in Spagonia over in Uropa. Both of them have spent the last couple of years doing archaeological research for professor pickles, visiting old temples and ancient ruins across the continent. While they were doing research for Professor Pickles, both of them also took up some side hobbies to help boost their income since their jobs as archaeologists served as the income to pay for bills and the rent. Sonic took up investing, buying stocks from many companies and racking up tons of cash while also exploring the continent for any of the power rings-those sold for quite a lot. Tails became an aircraft mechanic, opening up a shop towards the outskirts of town where it was much more rural.

The apartment they lived in wasn't too shabby since it was a temporary home for them until Sonic's mansion in Emerald Republic; the apartment was located in the heart of Spagonia right near the university so that it was an easy walk to visit the professor. The inside had many photos from their past adventures touring the continent, and some ancient artifacts that they even got to keep as thanks from Professor Pickles. Sonic is relaxing on the couch-listening to a baseball game that was playing on the TV in the background, and Tails was sitting next to him-reading a novel. Their appearances were slightly different from before; Sonic now wore a pair of white shoes instead of his classic red ones that served as his off-duty wear, since he didn't have to battle against anyone. Tails also updated his appearance, wearing some huge thick-brimmed black glasses a necklace around his neck that he received from cream before they went separate ways.

The phone rings and Tails got up and answered, "Hello…?"

An familiar old man's voice spoke, "Tails…I need you and Sonic to come see me right away."

"Professor Pickles…? What's wrong?"

Sonic's ear twitched as he heard Professor Pickles name, "Tell him I said hi!" he yelled with enthusiasm.

"I have some news that I must share in person with you, so please come right away!" professor Pickles hangs up suddenly; Tails stares at the phone-confused.

He notifies Sonic about the apparently urgent call, and the two left and made their way to Spagonia University. They admire the stone architecture of the buildings and clay sidewalks with flowers decorating the sides, the shops open to the public as many owners greet their customers on the way by. They approach the huge university, seeing many students enter and exit through the front doors; and walk through the long halls on their way to the professor's room.

They knock and then enter, "Pardon the intrusion…" they said whispering in unison.

Professor Pickles was sitting at his desk with his assistant next to him, both holding some papers in their hands. He waves for Sonic and Tails to have a seat at the desks, "Usually I would call you here abruptly like this if I ever had a sudden expedition for you to embark…but this is _very_ different news…"

Tails leaned forward, "What happened…?"

Sonic looks uninterested and takes out his Smartphone, "Is it another sudden game of Uno? Because you said the same thing last time too, and we ended up spending hours trying to finish."

"No no no, it isn't something like that. This is really a serious matter that I must discuss with you."

Sonic kept his eyes on his phone, "Keep going…"

"My assistant Ralph here had been sent on a mission in North Maruca to do some research on an area over in the Emerald Republic…"

Tails cut him off-glancing at Sonic for a second, "Don't you own a mansion in Emerald Republic?"

Sonic shushed him, "It's rude to interrupt a grown up while they're speaking…"-he returned his attention to the professor-"Please continue."

Professor pickles continued, "Ah, yes. While Ralph was staying in the country, he began to hear rumors about sightings of Dr. Eggman all across the country…"-Sonic and Tails froze at the idea of Dr. Eggman actually being back in the picture-"But Ralph decided to check for himself it was really true." Professor Pickles gives Ralph the floor.

Ralph came forward holding some papers, "I decided to scout the location where most locals said they saw Dr. Eggman appear the most: the coast. Many of them said they spotted him all along the coast in his egg mobile, pacing back and forth as if he was trying to calculate something; they added that he never once tried to terrorize them whenever he into town and that he was quite friendly."

Sonic crossed his arms-unnerved, "There has to be more to it than just that."

Ralph snapped his fingers and winked, "You are definitely correct! While I was along the coast, I discovered this inlet as you go farther west; there was a cave further in. When I got there, I saw this giant egg shaped base that resembled his logo…and plenty of badniks surrounding the outside. There was this giant holographic force field that surrounded the base, but when I touched it, I wasn't harmed. My guess is that it's specifically made to harm only certain individuals…ones like you guys."

"So, did you sneak into the base?" Tails asked; Ralph nodded.

"I infiltrated, but I tried my best to obviously avoid detection or battle since I would stand no chance. But I did a good amount of snooping and found some very useful information. First, the interior of the base is very spacious with plenty of hallways filled with various badniks roaming around. Secondly, there was a room that contained some strange looking mechs that he appeared to be in the progress of completing; you can find this room near the heart of the base, but I wouldn't recommend it given the security. Lastly, indeed Dr. Eggman is up to something…I was able to sneak some papers that contained the layout of the facility, and what looks to be his plans for the future…"-he hands them the papers-"judging from his notes, it seems like he's got some ambitious plans."

Sonic and Tails examined the files; they were titled the "E.G.G Files". The plans detailed what looked like the layout for another Eggmanland scheme, and written under the notes it said-"the grand master plan for world domination!"-Also found were documents and blueprints of some mysterious looking mechs that neither of them had ever seen.

"So he's back…!" Sonic concluded, ruffling the parts of the paper he was holding.

"I'm afraid so…I have given you this information because I believe that both of you are the best people to stop him." Ralph said with confidence; bowing his head and ceding the spotlight back to Professor Pickles.

Professor Pickles folded his hands, "I believe in the two of you…you've saved this world before and I believe you can do it again. Go to the Emerald Republic and put a stop to Dr. Eggman's plans before they ever begin to take effect!"

They both had a confident smile, "You can count on us professor!"

"Well, looks like we're back in action. I guess your daily training will pay off." Tails said on the way back home.

"We'll have to pack our bags tonight and leave early in the morning…traveling from Urope to North Maruca is at least an eight hour flight." Sonic suggested.

Tails wagged a finger, "Tch tch tch Sonic! With the X Tornado, we'll cut the trip to about half the time!"

"We still should aim for the morning at least…I have some errands I need to run when get there."

"Are the errands related to your mansion?"

"Duh!'

The boys packed up their bags of their personal belongings and clothes and made sure to let Professor Pickles know when they were leaving. The next morning, the duo traveled over the outskirts where Tails had his plane ready; Professor Pickles and Ralph were already waiting.

"Ahh the X-Tornado! I see you've made some adjustments…" Sonic observed, feeling the body of the plane.

"Only minor adjustments; I haven't had the time to do anything major like aesthetics and what-not."

They shook hands with the Professor Pickles and Ralph-letting both of them know they'd be gone for a while depending on how things played out. Right after that, the two were off on their way as the plane took off, seeing the great architecture of Spagonia get smaller and smaller as the ascended into the sky; Tails piloted plane.

An hour passes by and Tails begun to get bored from the lack of conversation; Sonic is on his phone, looking at the news going on around the world. Tails was beginning to get agitated with the silence in the room, screaming on the inside.

"Hey Tails, it seems like things aren't improving in world trades…maybe I should pull out my stocks?" Sonic scrolled through his newsfeed.

"Yeah, you've made a boatload of money!" Tails responded enthusiastically, happy to finally have a conversation to eliminate the silence; but Sonic resumes his attention to his phone, upsetting Tails on the inside even more.

"Get off the phone!" Tails barked, doing a barrel roll to agitate Sonic; Sonic got woozy.

"P-please stop!" begged Sonic, holding his hand over his mouth.

"Then talk to me instead of looking through your phone; I've been bored for about an hour." Tails said flying the plane back to a normal position.

"Sorry about that, it was inconsiderate of me…"-Sonic places his phone in a cup holder-"From here on out, I'll keep you company buddy."

"Thanks…So what do you think we should talk about?"

Sonic looks down at the water, "How do you think the others are doing…?"

Tails' eyes lowered, "I don't know, I haven't spoken to any of them since that fight."

"Do you think I made the right decision?"

"Well, you're rich. I have my own plane shop, and we've been helping Professor Pickles; I'd say everything has worked out for us, at least."

Sonic nods his head in agreement, "Yeah, you're right."

They continued their flight to Emerald Republic for another couple of hours; the sun beams at them, forcing Tails to have to use one of his newer functions. Tails flipped a switch and a set of tinted windows emerged and covered them. A gentle hum sounds from the plane's turbines as they fly over the Emerald Ocean, viewing the crystal clear and calm green water. Tails took a look at his monitor and did a bit of math on a little transparent board next to him.

"We'll be there in about less than a hour." said Tails.

"Then I guess I'll take a quick nap." responded Sonic, shifting to a comfortable position to sleep.


	2. EGG Files arc: Sudden Encounter

They reached the Emerald Republic six hours later, Sonic drooled on his seat, Tails with one eye open and the other halfway closed landed the plane at the Emerald Republic International Airport in the capital of the province, Emerald City. Sonic and Tails shuffled through the crowd to make it outside the airport; Tails was surprised to see how many people were there at the airport.

"You really managed to turn this place around, I'm impressed." Said Tails, still figuring out how Sonic managed to completely turn a slum as bad as this one around.

"Thanks, wasn't easy but it's great to see how the airport alone is doing good." He said stretching out his legs and arms; Tails kept on the lookout for their taxi, but one didn't stop for them.

"Sonic… where's our ride to your mansion?" asked Tails slowly with regret, realizing what his answer might be.

"Isn't it obvious? You're looking at him!" pointing a thumb at himself with a bright smile; Tails gulped.

Sonic grabbed Tails and lifted him on his back and sprinted at full speed across the entire province; Tails screams in fear for his life. They zipped pass Emerald City, the life of the country with its traffic, skyscrapers and colorful green lights shining in the night streets, they passed Emerald town next with their assorted street markets and shops, followed by the suburbs with houses lined up row by row and finally they reached the beach.

Emerald Beach had dimly lit lamp posts in a row at about 25 feet apart across the beach sidewalk. The full moon shined its lunar light at the Black ocean, with waves crashing into the sand with rhythm. Sonic and Tails arrived at Sonic's mansion, the only home for miles.

"Oh my…" gasped Tails, approaching the gigantic mansion; Sonic walked up to the front door, an eye scanner was next to the door, Sonic put his eye up to the scanner to get it scanned for access.

"Come on in!" Invited Sonic, unlocking the door and immediately running to the living room and crashing on his couch; Tails walked in, taking the amazing sight of the minimalist design and color way of Blue and Gray.

"Sonic…" he mumbled; Sonic already fell asleep on the couch.

Tails grabbed his bags and headed upstairs to find a guest room to stay in; Sonic began snoring loudly with a bubble emerging from his nose. Upstairs had a nice décor just like downstairs although, the mansion as a whole seemed to be lacking in furniture and other necessities. Tails picked a random guest room from the eight present and walked into the room, finding the minimalist design even more appealing than in a bedroom than in the whole mansion. Tails jumped into the bed and sighed of great relief, smelling the sweet pillows.

The next morning, Tails woke up and walked downstairs; there was a pleasant smell coming from the kitchen. Tails walked and in and saw Sonic cooking breakfast with the TV on in the background; Tails stood there more confused than ever before.

"You can cook?" yawned a sleepyhead Tails, stretching.

"Yeah, you took forever to wake up, I'm going to do some major shopping today and have this place looking nice!" said Sonic with excitement, flipping the pancakes; Tails took a seat at the dining table.

"But what about our mission to locate Dr. Eggman? To bring him down after the drought? Isn't that the reason why we're here?" Asked Tails, hoping to get him back on track; Sonic flipped the pancakes again and began whistling a tune of sonic boom.

"Tails, in the last two years we've spent away from fighting any enemies, I've realized just how nice this life is…"-setting the pancakes on plates and heading into the fridge to grab fruits-"life is more than just a job, we have to enjoy it regardless of what's going on." He added, slicing up strawberries and bananas and even a tangerine.

"Sonic, you're even more laid back than before." Said an irritated Tails, accepting the breakfast and enjoying every bite of the pancake; Sonic looked at him hoping Tails would give him a compliment of his skills.

Tails stared at Sonic, "Disgusting! This tastes terrible! You're lucky that I happen to be hungry." Barked Tails, taking another bite and savoring it in his mind; Sonic dropped to his knees, shocked by how cold Tails was to him.

Sonic gave Tails a tour of the mansion; showing him the 12 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, massive kitchen and dining room and the backyard that had a giant pool with a court yard behind it. But, Sonic still lacked sufficient furniture for anyone to simply live here.

"Tails, I'm going to head to the city and buy all the stuff I need, head to the basement, I have a high-tech room set up especially for you to work on your nerdy stuff." He dashed away drove off in his updated speed star, it strikingly resembled a Mazda RX7 and Audi R8. Tails had an annoyed look, "Arghh I'm not a nerd!" shouted Tails with Cruciform veins popping out on the right side of his head and shaking his fist with fury.

Sonic drove to the Emerald city, admiring the gorgeous morning that awaited him as he passed the towns people waving hello.

"I'll pass by you later!" he yelled cheerfully passing them by.

He continued his drive to the city and arrived at Sid's furniture, ordering all the minimalist style furniture imaginable. Afterwards, he went to Great Buy and ordered a bunch of electronics and appliances. Sonic's appearance hadn't changed much in the two years, unlike Tails, he didn't wear glasses or any accessories on him, although his quills were slightly longer and messier; he looked way more mature than before.

Sonic entered the book store looking to buy books to decorate around the house after purchasing a monumental bookshelf. Sonic walked the perimeter, grabbing a copy of every book he could and entered the archaeological section of the store. He had so many books in his hands that he couldn't see where he was going and accidentally bumped into a girl, a Pink hedgehog to be exact.

"My apologies I didn't see where I was going." Apologized Sonic rubbing the back of his head, not yet looking up at the girl. He looked up at her and realized that he'd seen those same eyes before.

"Amy!?" tilting his head to the side in shock.

"Sonic!?" she replied in equal shock, scooting back away from him.

"What are you doing here!?" they said in sync.

They both gave each other a strong hug, swinging side to side, "It's been so long! Man, you don't know how much I missed you and the others!" he said with joy, being reunited with Amy; Amy's smile disappeared and she gently pushed herself away from Sonic.

"What's wrong?" asked Sonic, sensing some discomfort from her.

"It's nothing, I just wasn't expecting to run into you, here of all places." Holding her arm and looking away from his eyes; Amy's appearance was beautiful, she grew out her Red dress and instead wore a Reddish-Pink t shirt with Black jeans and white high tops with sparkling diamond earrings in both ears. She also had longer quills than before, with them all tied back in a braid.

Sonic helped Amy up and together they picked up Sonic's books and placed them in shopping cart. They walked down the aisle together helping Sonic pick out books, Amy avoided as much conversation and eye contact as possible.

A faint howl came from behind Sonic and Amy; it was Cream running at full speed toward Sonic with fire in her eyes. She drop kicked Sonic into a nearby shelf, dropping all the books onto him; Amy's eyes widened looking at the rubble of books and then Cream.

"Amy, you OK? I saw a suspicious man with you so I took swift action." Said Cream with pride; the rubble of books began to move and Cream leaped into battle stance.

"Ow" muttered Sonic, emerging from the pile of rubble; Cream realized who it was and approached him at full speed again.

"Mr. Sonic!" she screamed, jumping into his arms with heavy tears.

Sonic calmed her down and the three left the book store walking to Sonic's car, "We'll catch up on old talk later, right now, do you guys have a ride? A place to stay, perhaps?" asked Sonic opening the doors for them.

"We got here by bus, but we don't have anywhere to stay yet, I was gonna book a room for us at a hotel." Responded Amy, giving him her full attention.

"No worries, you can stay at my domain." Suggested Sonic; Amy got red faced with smoke coming out her ears and turned away holding her head with huge smile on her face.

Sonic turns to Cream, "You've grown up since the last time I saw you!" he said with glee.

"Yeah, I've been on adventures with Amy." She responded casually; Amy still was in her world.

Cream's appearance was much different, she also ditched the dress, but instead wore a Polo shirt with a Brown side, Sky blue number on the sleeves and a Cream color serving as the base of the shirt with a sky blue skirt to go with it. Also, she wore Hipster glasses similar to Tails.

They accepted Sonic's gesture and drove with him back to his mansion, learning that they'd also see Tails, causing a light to shine in Cream's eye as she quickly accepted.


	3. EGG Files arc: Trouble on Angel Island

It was Midnight with mild light from the moon; a giant floating island appeared in the distance, floating very slowly, Angel Island. At the center of Angel Island stood the Master Emerald on its shrine, being guarded by Knuckles, whom was sleeping; someone was watching them from the bushes nearby.

A few miles away were the base of the Chaotix Detective Agency with Vector, Espio and Charmy on guard for the night. In the surveillance room, the security camera picked up an intruder on the island; Espio ran to the room to witness someone steal the Master Emerald.

"Someone get a hold of Knuckles! We have an intruder trying to steal the Master Emerald!" he shouted, sprinting past Vector and Charmy, "I'll head to the scene immediately; you contact the others and tell them to return from their active cases ASAP!" he yelled, heading in the direction of the shrine.

Back at the shrine, Knuckles was still sleeping; the intruder quickly secured the Master Emerald in his possession, picking up the behemoth of a rock and walking away slowly. Espio arrived just in time, catching the intruder in his tracks with the Master Emerald.

"Put the Emerald back!" demanded Espio, taking out 4 shurikens and sizing up the intruder, who had the darkness in his favor since Espio couldn't see his face; the intruder didn't say a word.

Espio threw out his shurikens, but the intruder summoned a rock shield from the ground, blocking the shurikens. The intruder ran forward summoning two giant boulders from nearby and threw them at Espio, creating some space between them; he took out a phone and left a voice message.

"I have the item of Interest." Yelling at the phone, "Come and pick it up, I'm going to be in a tough spot for a bit." he added, putting the phone away and returning his attention to Espio.

"Who are you?" asked Espio, seeking information; the intruder didn't answer.

The two charge at each other and begin combat, Espio jumps in the air doing a front flip and throwing 3 shurikens backwards aiming at the intruder, but the intruder responds by once again throwing up his rock shield to block.

"You're starting to annoy me with that shield of yours!" barked Espio uncharacteristically; the intruder rushed forward with a boulder floating in his hand.

The intruder threw the boulder at Espio, but luckily he dodged it; the boulder destroyed 3 trees nearby. Espio got in a relaxed position and used his camouflage ability to keep hidden from the intruder; the intruder created a giant spherical rock shield to surround him, only leaving a small space for his eyes so that he could see what was going on.

Espio jumps from behind with a huge dagger in his hand and pierces the rock shield, and even getting a scratch on the intruder; the intruder begins to rage.

"I'll send you to hell!" screams the intruder, making a hard glove out of his rock shield.

He moves forward and quickly jabs Espio twice in the gut and then performs a roundhouse kick; Espio gets up anyways, trying to stall until Knuckles wakes up. The intruder jumps in the air and lands the crushing blow to Espio's face, knocking him unconscious.

"That pest is taken care of…" says the intruder, adjusting his rock gloves; Knuckles wakes up and sees Espio on the ground, unconscious with blood trickling out his mouth.

He looks around and catches the intruder out the corner of his eye; he clenches his fist and grits his teeth with violent expression on his face. He gets up and walks over to the intruder, who had the Master Emerald behind him.

"Now I know you wouldn't be foolish enough to intrude into MY Island and STEAL my Master Emerald, not to mention injuring one of my comrades!" yells knuckles, cracking his neck and fingers.

Knuckles leaped forward and aimed a hard punch at the intruder; the intruder dodges it at the last minute, avoiding the HUGE crater left by Knuckles' punch. Knuckles looked much more grown up, he white stripes on the end of his dreads and a pair of Red, Yellow and Green colored goggles around his neck and an irritated expression on his face.

The intruder took a hesitant step back, realizing that the person before him was a much more dangerous foe than the previous. Orbot and Cubot flew down in an egg mobile and safely secured the Master Emerald in their possession, flying away righ afterwards.

"HEY!" screamed Knuckles, shaking his fist angrily, "Give me my Master Emerald!" running right past the intruder and chasing down the robot duo.

Knuckles winds up a punch and jumps off a nearby rock, gliding to the egg mobile and grabs hold of the rear. Cubot tries to push him off, but it's useless. Knuckles grabbed Cubot, throwing him overboard, leaving only Orbot behind; Cubot shrieked as he fell to what seemed like his impending death.

The intruder, who was running on a rock path in mid air made by his power, caught Cubot and headed towards Knuckles and Orbot. Knuckles bashed Orbot's head into the egg mobile until the carrier malfunctioned; Orbot released a sleeping gas from his mouth. The intruder retrieved Orbot and the Master Emerald and they made their escape, leaving knuckles on the crashing aircraft while Angel Island also began falling from the sky.


	4. EGG Files arc: The New Chaotix

Knuckles wakes up on a boat sailing in the ocean with no recollection of how he got there. He looked around and saw different medical tools on the wall with a white coat on a hanger, appears he was in the doctor's room. A sharp pain arrived, increasing in intensity every time he tried moving around.

"Where the hell am I?" grabbing the edge of the nearby table for support to sit up.

He gets up a few moments later and limps to the door-looking out the window first to see if anyone might be nearby and then exits out. He appears in a classic wooden style hallway and makes his way to the room all the way across the hallway-using the wall as support-hearing indistinct chatter coming from the room; he enters the unlocked room.

A crowd of people are sitting around a table arguing about something and don't notice Knuckles' entrance.

"I'm saying the damage we've sustained from Eggman's forces is unacceptable! We must bring the fight to him pronto!" Yelled Mighty the Armadillo, the muscle of the Chaotix alongside Knuckles.

"And _I'm_ saying NO! We can't just rush into an immediate battle with him, for all we know, that might be exactly what he wants!" protested Julie-Su, A pink echidna who serves as the teams pilot and is also Knuckles' fiancée .

"We've received reports from Vector and Saffron that he has a base in the Emerald Republic, we can attack him on his own turf and win!" pitched Mighty, eyeing Ray the Flying squirrel and Saffron the bee to join his side; Espio sighed and signaled for the end of conversation, realizing that Knuckles was there.

"Knuckles, you've finally awaken…" invites Mighty, walking over to Knuckles and putting his arm over his shoulder. "Don't you think it's in our best interest to attack Eggman? I mean he sunk Angel Island after stealing the Master Emerald, Injured you and Espio."

"I'm fine!" interrupted Espio, coming between them. "Knuckles needs his rest, we shouldn't bother him with the issue now."

"Wait…" said Knuckles, breathing heavily, "What happened to Angel Island, where's the Master Emerald?" grabbing a seat next to Julie-Su at the table; the room stood silent.

"Well, Angel Island is underwater…" Said Saffron, hiding behind Ray; Knuckles' seemed indifferent, staring forward blankly.

"What else?" he demanded, turning his attention to Saffron.

"We've lost the Master Emerald and our Main base is flooded." Twiddling her fingers; Charmy and Vector entered the room.

The Eight of them made up the Chaotix Detective Agency, an undercover independent agency led by Knuckles. Knuckles took over the agency two years ago after Vector offered him the role of captain, following a month into his tenure; he encountered Ray and Mighty in the Middle East and recruited them. Shortly after, he met Julie-Su in Albion, a ruined echidna civilization, and Saffron in the Golden Hive Colonies of the pacific, stuffing the agency with top tier combatants. Saffron, a high ranked intelligence specialist, serves as a skillful information broker. Julie-Su, serves as the arms specialist- creating new guns every week. Ray is the head chef of the agency and Charmy is the doctor, earning his medical degree in record pace. Espio is their undercover agent-always going on recon to spy on any malicious people. Mighty is the wall protecting the agency and Vector is the smarts of the agency, rivaling with Julie-Su for smartest member. Knuckles lead the way as the captain of this powerful organization.

"So this ship must be our second base?" asked Knuckles folding his arms and relaxing back into the seat with an irritated look beginning to bloom. "So Dr. Eggman showed and stole the Master Emerald right from us." He added.

"We know his location, but it could risky walking onto his turf like that." Pointed Vector to his chart on the whiteboard behind them.

"Knuckles you should be resting! You have no business being mobile yet!" worried Charmy; Knuckles gave him the hand.

"I'll be fine. We leave for the Emerald Republic right now!" demanded Knuckles.

"Yes sir!" Responded Ray.

Knuckles turned to Julie-Su, "Could you grab my phone for me? I have some calls to make." In a calm tone.

Back in the Emerald Republic, Tails, Amy and Cream went sightseeing in Emerald City; Sonic lent them the car and went off on his own, much to the others' displeasure. Sonic was in Downtown Emerald Republic scoping out for Dr. Eggman's base. He walks around the city keeping his eye on the lookout for anything suspicious-something sprints into a dark alley and he decides to follow.

The alley had a dank odor; Sonic makes a face of disgust, covering his nose. He continues down the dark alley way with only his green eyes illuminating in the darkness; he hears noises, noises quite similar to the badniks that he was so accustomed to battling a few years back. Sonic crouches near the wall and takes a peek over the side to see what was making all the noise- two egg pawns standing around like idiots; Sonic cracks an evil grin.

Sonic swiftly spin dashes both of them, expecting immediate destruction, instead gets a hard punch to the gut and is sent flying by one the egg pawns into the nearby building; Sonic recovered from the impact, but held his shoulder.

"Looks like this things dislocated…" trying to pop his shoulder back into place; the other egg pawn charges at sonic and swats him across the area into the next building.

Sonic staggers a bit, "Well, looks like you won't give me a chance to lose this rust."

The egg pawns dance around, taunting Sonic; He looks at them with anger and charges up his Spin Dash. The egg pawns ready themselves for his predictable attack, holding their hands out ready to block. Sonic rolls forward at them and then over them- leaving their backs exposed to him. He smashes their frail backs to pieces and finds a GPS with Dr. Eggman's logo on it in the debris. As he's about to pick it up, he gets a video call from Tails and answers.

"Sonic!" cheered Tails.

"Hey Tails…" winces Sonic in pain from his shoulder.

"We're back at the mansion; we left some food for you." He responds, unaware of Sonic's condition.

"Cool, I'll be back in a few…" Sonic hangs up the phone quickly and grimaces in pain-leaning against the wall holding his shoulder. "I need to get back home quickly, but." He faces the GPS and uses his good arm to pick it up. "I need to track down Eggman as well." He concluded.

Sonic returns home to see the entire mansion decorated in nice furniture; Tails and the girls hide behind the kitchen counter waiting to surprise him. He limps to his room holding his shoulder, hoping to avoid the others. Amy indentifies his injury from the distance and immediately runs over to him with great concern.

"What happened to your arm!? Did you get in a fight?" she asked examining his injury; Sonic hesitated to answer.

"I…encountered some of Eggman's badniks." Hesitated Sonic; Amy grins, and this puzzles Sonic. "Why…are you grinning?"

Amy gives a sinister laugh and with a shining star in her eye, "You see Sonic, there's a reason why I came here…"

Sonic looked confused; Tails and Cream appeared from the kitchen with plate full of fruits in their hands. Amy helped Sonic over to the nearby couch and tended to his wound as she explained her reason.

"For the last two years, Cream and I have been tracking down Dr. Eggman's activities. We had many leads that went cold and when we discovered that his base might be here, we decided to cash in and confront him once and for all. But, we ran into you and we were going to tell you sooner, but I wasn't sure if you'd be willing to go back into this mess with Dr. Eggman." Said Amy with shame on her face, "I really did want to tell you but…" Amy's phone rings; its Knuckles.

"Amy! I have some things to speak to you about!" yelled Knuckles through the phone; everyone could hear him in the room.

"Wait Knuckles, you're a little louder than usual. Did someone get you angry?" jokes Amy.

"Yeah! It's Eggman, he stole the Master Emerald and sunk Angel Island." Responded Knuckles; Amy's joyful expression vanished, a serious one replaces it.

"Let me guess, you're tailing him to Emerald Republic…." Answered Amy.

"I have a le-Wait! How'd you know?" yelling again through the phone.

"I'm in Emerald Republic with Cream, we found an old friend you might want to see if you're coming." Teased Amy.

"Whoever that is… we'll arrive in a few hours, after we arrive we must form a plan of how to take down Eggman."-Amy pauses, sitting next to Sonic-"Sometimes I wish Sonic would come back, it's been long since…I know he would love to stop Eggman." Added Knuckles in a melancholy tone; Amy shrinks.

"About that…" Scrupled Amy, avoiding the introduction of Sonic into the conversation, remembering what happened two years ago when everyone split.

"Sorry, gonna have to hang up now." Before he hangs up, knuckles can be heard yelling at someone; most likely Charmy or Espio.

Amy looks at the others, "Did you guys get all that?"

Cream nodded, enjoying her assorted fruits. Tails already finished his bowl and helped pop Sonic's shoulder back into place after Amy paused on the action to answer her phone. Sonic writhed in agony as the shoulder got back to normal position; there was even a 'pop' sound that could be heard when Tails popped the shoulder back in.

"T-thanks Tails…" expresses Sonic with tears of pain in his eyes, "But next time… never tend to my wounds, please." He adds, scooting away from him in fear of what might happen next time.

Tails makes a scary face, "Oh? If you hadn't allowed yourself to get injured, none of this would happen, huh?" causing Sonic to wither away from him in depression.

Amy sits back down next to them, "I'll send them the coordinates to get here." She says texting Julie-Su the address of the Mansion.

"So Knuckles is coming here for a visit?" asks Cream, resting the bowl on the table; Amy looks at her with reluctance.

"Yes…" Amy says.

"I haven't seen Knuckles since _that_ day…" adds Tails, with a saddened face; Sonic looks downwards at his feet, away from them with disappointment on his.

"Sonic…" murmurs Amy, with a sorrowful face holding her hands close to her heart, "You remember that day?"

Sonic didn't want to answer; he kept his attention downwards, "I don't want to remember that day." Folding his hands, "I prefer we drop the subject…" he proposed.


	5. EGG Files arc: Reunion

It was two years ago, Sonic and company hadn't find any leads on Dr. Eggman since defeating him on the lost hex. For months, they searched across the nearby continent-looking for any clues, but to no avail. Now they were at a forest park, figuring out where to go now that Dr. Eggman wasn't anywhere to be found.

"ARGH!" Yelled knuckles in frustration, punching a nearby tree clean off its trunk; Poor tree!

"Calm down, you pirate!" Shouts Sonic shaking his fist in the air.

"Sonic, you've been keeping us on a wild goose chase for six long months! We're all tired of this!" rebutted Knuckles, stomping towards Sonic.

"Guys, we shouldn't fight!" Screamed Amy, getting between them, "I know you're tired Knuckles, but that's no way to talk Sonic!"

"Shut up Amy! You're just a delusional girl with hopeless dreams." Lashed Knuckles.

"I want OUT!" he screamed, stomping off in the opposite direction.

"I guess what I'm about to say won't help the situation much either!" shouted Sonic; Knuckles halts, turning around to hear what Sonic has to say.

"What!"

Sonic closes his eyes and sighs, "I think it would be best that we all split up." He suggests; everyone looks stunned by his words.

"What the heck are you saying!?" Exclaimed Cream, stepping forward; the others are surprised by her sudden action.

"Yeah, we've always been together…" adds Tails, also stepping forward; Amy's at a loss for words and Knuckles is cracking his fingers.

"I just think that it would be best if we all go our separate ways. I don't want to burden anyone who doesn't want to follow. You're free to do whatever you want." Sonic turns and walks away, Tails follows him-trying to reason, Cream and Amy stand still-dumbfounded and Knuckles bursts out laughing.

"If I ever see your face, I'm gonna punch it so far in you'll see the back of your skull!" Yelled Knuckles, Stomping away and ranting aloud to himself.

Amy and Cream stand there, Amy welling tears in her eyes. She falls to the ground and begins to sob. Cream tries to comfort her, but it's no use!

"After all this time he wants to split us up!?" shedding tears, "To hell with him! I don't need him anymore!"

Amy throws a hard punch at the ground and gets up, "We'll go on our own adventure, we'll learn new skills that can benefit us in the future! We'll find Eggman before Sonic! That'll show him!"

They all sit silent around the coffee table when they hear a knock at the door. Amy gets up and walks to the door to see, It's Knuckles and the Chaotix. They enter the big mansion, everyone impressed at the magnificent sight.

Knuckle whistles, "Well then Ames, I'm impressed you hid such a place from me!"

Amy looks at him with annoyance-crossing her arms, "Don't call me that, only Sonic can call me that."

" _Don't_ mention that idiot's name!"

Amy turns her attention from Knuckles and greets the other members; she guides them to the living room where Sonic and the others waited. Upon entering, Sonic and Knuckles immediately make eye contact. Knuckles charges at Sonic and picks him up, they both break through the sliding glass door nearby and drop into the deep end of the pool. Knuckles strangled Sonic, giving him no chance to escape; both of them losing air. Amy and the others panicked, they know sonic can't swim. On the Chaotix side, they were surprised to see how fast Knuckles jumped to action instead of running his mouth. Vector jumps in the pool, rescuing them both-Knuckles still has his hands wrapped around Sonic's neck.

"Enough!" yells Amy, prying Knuckles off of Sonic, "Is this any way to treat the owner of this house!?"

Knuckles laughed, "Him? He couldn't possibly!"

"He is, and he's injured!" added Tails pointing to his arm.

Knuckles got up, drenched in water and approached Sonic. He squares up and balls his hand into a fist and delivers an eye bruiser of a punch-Knocking Sonic unconscious.

"I told you guys I'd punch him in the face." Shrugged Knuckles.

Later that day, everyone sat together in the dining room, eating food prepared by Amy and Cream. Everyone exchanges stories with each other about what they've been up to, Knuckles gives a Viking laugh-he was drunk.

"Knuckles, what brings you here?" sighs Sonic, icing the bruises on his face.

"I came here to discuss something with Amy, but now I have the bittersweet pleasure of running into you…" smiling angrily.

"But the business I came to discuss has to deal with Dr. Eggman."

"Dr. Eggman? What happened?" jumped Tails with a basket full of cookies.

Knuckles grabs a cookie, "He trespassed on Angel Island the other day, with his robotic goons and some newbie of his-long story short, they stole the Master Emerald and Angel Island has fallen." He takes a bite of the cookie, and his anger went away, "Good cookie!" giving Tails a thumbs up.

"Wait, so Eggman's back!? And he stole the Master Emerald!?" Sonic asks in disbelief, getting up from his seat.

"That's why I'm here…" he responds, taking another delicious cookie.

"Sonic you remember us?" said Mighty, dragging Ray with him, "We once escaped from Dr. Eggman together!"

Sonic squints his eyes, inspecting them. "Sorry! I don't quite remember you…" he adds while scratching the back of his head, embarrassed; Mighty looks heartbroken, falling into Ray's arms with tears.

Sonic turned back towards Knuckles "Well Knuckles, seems like you have quite the crew."

Knuckles became full of it, "Yes! A great bunch led by me! Praise me more you hedgehog!" Julie-Su walks behind him a give him a painful flick on the head; Knuckles cries in agony.

"I'm Julie-Su, Fiancee of Knuckles and the brains of the Chaotix." Shaking Sonic's hand, "I apologize for Knuckle's behavior, the truth is he hasn't stopped talking about you from the time I met him. All he's talked about is reuniting with you and taking Eggman down like the 'old times'."

"Oh? Is that so?" taunting Knuckles, who had an irritated look on his face-gritting his teeth and growling.

"Anyway, as you just heard, Dr. Eggman has possession of the master Emerald. We need a way to retrieve it before he launches any big plans."

"I have an Idea!" says Tails, "Follow me."

Tails leads them all to a high tech room all the way in the back of the mansion. The high tech room was filled with super computers, fancy interior and a giant TV screen on the wall. Tails approaches the big screen and begins typing.

"While you were away I upgraded one the rooms to my liking, sorry!"

Sonic's impressed, giving Tails a high five, "No need to apologize, this look incredible!"

Julie-Su wasn't very impressed, "What exactly does this have to do with Dr. Eggman?" taking a closer look at the computers.

"Well, if he has the Master Emerald, our objective should be to gather the 7 Chaos Emeralds before he nullifies their power. After we've gathered them, we attack head-on, lead by Super Sonic and Knuckles."

Everyone seems on board with the plan-except for Julie-Su, who still didn't seem convinced. She walks up to Tails and observes to massive keyboard before them and then looks up at the giant screen.

"How exactly are you going to locate them? We can't just go on some random adventure looking for these rocks." Pestered Julie-Su, throwing her hands up in the air with annoyance.

Sonic whispered to Vector, "That's what we did…"

"Don't worry." Reassures Tails, "We already have a total of 7 locations that could possibly be the Chaos Emerald's spot, but if Dr. Eggman is anything as I remember, he'll be at some of these sites looking for them as well."

"He wouldn't want us to a have a single percent chance of stopping him." Adds Sonic, heading out the room.

"Wait…how? How do you have the locations?" stands a surprised Julie-Su.

"During our research in Spagonia, I built a device that can track the Chaos Emerald's location based on its level of chaos energy. I found all the locations with ease, but since Eggman never resurfaced, I thought I didn't need a real reason to ever look for them again."

Knuckles gets excited, "So it's decided then, we should split up to look for the emeralds, there's a sure chance that one of us will run into him."-Cracking his fingers and moving around-"Tell us our locations, we can leave immediately!"

"Hold on!" begs Tails, "We can't rush into this, I'll need the rest of today to analyze everyone's skills and then pick out the best groups based on those same skills and the location. I'll also need time to create some communication devices for everyone, so that we stay in touch."

"Vector and I will assist you." Proposed Julie-Su, grabbing Vector's hand and raising it before he had any say.

Tails clears everyone out and leads Vector and Julie-Su to his room, where he builds everything. Sonic goes to his room to relax, Amy and Cream make acquaintance with the rest of the Chaotix. Sonic invites the Chaotix to stay over for the time being, cooking food for them and even playing some traditional board games with Charmy, Ray and Saffron.

The next morning, Tails storms down the stairs holding a bunch of head phones in his hands, with Vector and Julie-Su following behind him. He calls them to the tech room to discuss the plan.

"As you guys know, I have the 7 locations of the Chaos Emeralds. The locations are Apotos, Station Square, Red Eye Desert, South Island, Chun-Nan, Arcadia and Holoska."

"Quite the selection of terrain there." Said Mighty, looking around the room.

Tails picks up a piece of paper from his desk and grabs a pen, "Before we depart, I must build some small aircrafts for you guys. The aircraft will have the map of the chaos Emerald built in to the system; it's up to you guys what you want to do from here on out."

Julie-Su signals Knuckles and Espio; they approach Tails. Knuckles carries a black rock to him, holding it ever so carefully. Tails marvels at the Black rock, taking it from Knuckles and inspecting it closer.

"What's this? It doesn't look like anything found on earth!?Where did you find this? It's like a new kind of element! It's texture…" Tails continues inspecting it-feeling the smoothness of the strange rock.

"We found it after we fought an intruder; he could manipulate the earth." Answered Espio, wanting to forget his defeat.

"He was the one who attacked us and aided in stealing the Master Emerald." Added Knuckles, punching his fists together-exhaling out his nose with extra force.

"So Egghead's got a new goon?" asks Sonic chiming in on the conversation.

Knuckles puts his hand on Sonic's face, trying to push him back. Tails continues looking at it, this time resting it on the nearby table and turning on the lamp.

"Whoever you fought is bad news, if they have the ability to manipulate the earth around them and even create a new element from scratch, we'll be in a tough one."

Sonic does a spin move around Knuckles, "Leave him to me! Since he's some earth guy, I'll take the Red desert; more than likely I might run into him there."

"Hey! I want my rematch with him!" argued Knuckles, getting in Sonic's face.

A pair of veins pop from Julie-Su's forehead as she makes a face of displeasure, She grabs both Sonic and Knuckle's and beats them up in a Big Ball of Violence, "Shut up you losers!" she yells with irritation.

Tails notifies everyone to spend the rest of the day making preparations for the mission; He walks out the room, heading to his own to further examine the Carbon rock. Mighty gathers everyone in the room, and huge grin covers his face.

"Let's all go out and eat tonight! We won't get a chance tomorrow!"

Amy and Cream give him an uninterested look and exit, Julie-Su forcibly breaks away from him and Saffron simply follows. Ray and Vector laugh at his blunder, Sonic and Espio show him sympathy and Knuckles simply makes a break for the Kitchen.


	6. GE7 arc: A New Adventure Starts!

A week's passed; everyone's gotten to know each other in this time. The girls bonded over different activities like Julie-Su and Cream competing at the shooting range in Emerald City, and Amy and Saffron reading different Novels together. The boys spent the week a little differently, Sonic and Knuckles continued their comedic fighting across the yard, Mighty and Ray had a eating contest, and the rest helped Tails work on the aircrafts.

Sonic rests under a tree, relaxing as the mild breeze swims through his quills, blowing it on a side like a flag. He snores lightly, barely audible; he shuffles onto his side and curls up into the fetus position with a smile on his face-seems he's having a good dream. Knuckles comes marching outside and spots sonic; devil horns sprout from his head as he bears an evil grin and laugh. He tip-toes closer to Sonic, creeping behind him pulling out an airhorn from his hammerspace.

"Muhahaha!" laughed Knuckle jubilantly, pressing the airhorn with full force in Sonic's ear; Sonic jumps in shock and hits his head on the tree. Tails comes storming out the mansion-running to them.

"Guys, I'm all set! We can finally get going." hopped Tails; Sonic covers his ear, trying to relieve the pain.

Sonic and Knuckles gather everyone in the backyard, where Tails waits with the aircrafts ready to unveil them; A total of 7 planes were there.

"After completing the planes and doing an extended analysis of everyone here, I've finally made the proper teams for everyone."-Taking out a sheet of paper and adjusting his glasses-"Amy and Cream, you'll search Station Square. Sonic, you called for the Red desert. Knuckles, you'll be partnered with Julie-Su and search South Island. Ray and Mighty, you'll take Chun-Nan. Espio, you'll search Arcadia. Vector and Charmy, you'll be in Holoska. Saffron, you and I will search Apotos. Is everyone all good with the choices made?"

Everyone seemed content with the choices and he unveiled the planes; 7 jet fighter planes-all state of the art. Amy and Cream boarded their Pink and Cream colored ship and made flight for Station Square.

"We'll contact you when we find anything." Said Amy, taking off.

Knuckle and Julie-Su followed and soon everyone left for their destination of finding the Chaos Emerald before Dr. Eggman could tamper with their power via the Master Emerald.

At the same time in a location unknown, sits a bay with a cove. Upon closer look, the cover has a sign with Dr. Eggman's logo. Dr. Eggman sits in his chair devouring a huge burger when he gets a video report from Orbot on the massive TV monitor in front of him.

"Dr. Eggman we have possession of the Master Emerald. We are now making way to the base, please have the entrance open, sir." Reports Orbot; Cubot's sleeping in the background.

"Good news to hear, when you return, we'll discuss the plan!" responds Dr. Eggman, taking another big bite; Orbot shows gratitude to Dr. Eggman showcasing a shred of kindness to him after all these years.

"Not you-stupid bucket of bolts! I'm talking about the magnificent Rock user behind you!" Shouts Dr. Eggman-directing with his hand for him to move-"I look forward to seeing what you do in the near future."

"Likewise…" responds the mysterious figure in a cool voice.

Dr. Eggman proceeds to typing on his computer unitl a two cameras come up, one of Tails and Saffron flying en route to Apotos and the other of Sonic flying to the Red desert.

 _It's a good thing I kept tabs on Sonic and Tails! So they're planning on collecting all 7 Chaos Emeralds before I can launch my attack with the Master Emerald! Man, those two are smart!_ Thought Dr. Eggman, playing over the audio from Sonic and Tails and the other's conversation. _I knew all about their whereabouts because that's what a good villain does, and I'm the best around! Installing those microscopic microphones and cameras surely did their job. I'll be looking forward to seeing you all again._

Dr. Eggman gets up and heads to his Egg mobile, piloting across the base viewing the mass collection of different badniks and even modified ones like the Egg pawns. He enters a dark room, passing 4 chambers that contain silhouettes of what appear to be new robots that he is creating, and reaches the end of the room where a bright light shines on the newest creation of his.

"Soon…Soon you'll create destruction that this planet has never seen! My two years worth of work will finally blossom when the Master Emerald arrives!" he says aloud to himself. _I know all those sleepless nights of failures on the previous six…emotional wear and tear…and countless hours of tweaking-will finally end with your birth! I'll call you G.E.7! Global Eradicator the 7_ _th_ _version!_

He pulls out the Smartphone from his pocket and issues a command to his Badniks, "All of you will begin your duties as of today. 500 of each type are to report to these locations: Arcadia, Apotos, Chun-Nan, Holoska, Spagonia, and Station Square. Dress accordingly to the location you are in and show no mercy! Kill them on the spot!" he orders, accessing his contacts menu for Orbot.

"Orbot, let our New partner know that we'll be making our way to the Red desert in North Maruca. We'll be meeting a special someone there that I'm sure he'll want to meet." Ending his voice message with an evil grin.


	7. GE7 arc: Return to Station Square

Amy and Cream arrive at Station square a day later; they set foot on shore of Emerald coast, admiring the beautiful view of the sapphire blue ocean and the waves crashing on the grainy white sand. Amy looks over at the hotel resort, which lays nearby-but separated by a cliff.

"Cream, we'll be staying over there…" Amy points to the hotel and carries her backpack; Cream does likewise.

"Amy, do you remember when we lived in station square." Says Cream, starting up a conversation with the beautiful ocean in the background.

"Yeah, I think we should pass by our old hotspots before we begin our mission." Responds Amy, resting the white tarp over the jet and locking it with her keys.

They both walk up the sandy hill and onto the sidewalk; Cream stops to take a photo of the beach with the ocean in the back. They arrive at the hotel, a very luxurious one. They reach the top floor and head to the suite that's reserved for them.

"Amy, I didn't think you'd use your money here!" settling her bag down and jumping on one of the beds.

"Did you think Sonic's the only one who's got money to spend? I'll gladly spend it if it'll make you happy." Jumping onto the bed beside Cream.

Creams happy facial expression fades away, "Amy… do you think my mom's ok?"

"Don't worry! I'm sure wherever she is…she's safe and sound!" pinching Cream's cheeks in an attempt to cheer her up; Cream gets up and goes out onto the balcony to admire the view of Station Square on the left and the beach on the right.

 _There's another reason why I became an adventurer…_ Amy closes her eyes going into deep thought, _shortly after we'd all split up and went our separate ways, Cream showed up at my apartment here in Station Square with teary eyes and a note in her hand._

"Amy! My mom's missing!" _she cried, jumping into me with open arms,_ "This note was on my door when I got home..." _Handing me the note._

 _It read: "Cream, I'll be gone, and I might not return for a very long time. Pack up your belongings and grab the suitcase that I left on the table-It's all the money that I saved for you. Go to Amy's domain and give her this note, I'm sure she'll gladly take you in with open arms. It really pains me to have say goodbye like this, but it's the only way to make sure you won't be harmed._

 _Mommy loves you._

 _I was shocked! Her mom didn't seem like the kind of woman to be in the kind of danger that'd make her leave behind Cream- Vanilla would never abandon her!_

 _I took her in and together we learned martial arts together, we picked up different skills that'd benefit us in the future; I took up Archery and Medicine to add to my arsenal with my acrobatic skills and my Piko-Piko hammer, Cream took up artillery practicing how to use a gun and build one. After 4 months I became an ace archer as well as a certified medic, and she became an arms specialist, mastering the use of any gun imaginable._

 _We adventured across North and South Maruca, but we found no leads on the whereabouts of Vanilla. Then during one of our expeditions in the jungles of South Maruca, We encountered one of Dr. Eggman's badniks- we defeated very easily but, we got suspicious of why his robot would be out here. Thus, we began our second objective of finding Dr. Eggman. I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't feel tired right about now…_ Amy relaxes her body and falls asleep.

Cream re-enters the room and finds observes Amy sleeping. She picks up her cream colored backpack and exits the room. "Amy's going to kill me if she finds out I left without her permission…But I can't let her lose any more energy than she's already lost because of me!" Cream tightens her grip on her shoulder straps and heads into the elevator. She walks up to the front desk and asks them to call her a taxi to Station Square; during the taxi ride, she listens to her music with her expensive Tunes headphones-Amy bought them for her.

Cream arrives in Station Square, looking up at the dozens upon dozens of skyscrapers that fill the area. She walks around observing all the restaurants, shops and people in the big city; the city had been rebuilt a few years back, after Sonic's battle with Perfect Chaos.

"This place looks even better than before!" in amazement; there's plenty more traffic than before too.

She passes by Twinkle Park, which got renovated. She stops at burger shop and gets a Cheeseburger with pickles and no tomatoes, she hates tomatoes. After she finishes her burger, she begins her search for the Chaos Emerald. She takes out her phone and brings up a map.

"Judging from the map, The Chao Emerald's location appears to be in the casino…" looking at her phone, "But, I can't enter the casino. I'm too young to be there…" she remembers the many times that her mom and Amy taught her to do the right thing and always respect the rules.

 _I'm sorry mom…Amy…I'm going to break in;_ She sneaks behind the casino-avoiding the two security guards that inspect the perimeter of the building. She finds a backdoor with an air vent on top of it and opens up her bag, taking out a universal key she received from Tails a week ago when she was hanging out with him. She holds the key close to her heart, "Tails, you always know how to win me over." She says opening the door.

She crouches down and peeks behind the corner- four security guards were chatting it up in the room nearby; she sneaks over to hear the conversation.

"So, did you hear what the grand prize of tonight's auction is?" asks the first security guard.

"Yeah, it's a Chaos Emerald. I hear many people are going to make a big splash for it!" answers the second security guard.

"Well, we'll need to be careful. I hear someone might try to steal it." Says the third guard, sipping on some coffee.

"We have tight security in the auction room, no one will be able to get in or out with our notice." Says the fourth security guard- he looks the most intimidating out of them all.

"I'll leave the map of the casino here, as you know, we've been having electrical issues lately. So I'll also leave the coordinates to the electric room here too." Says the fourth guard.

Cream hurries back to her original spot to remain undetected, _so I'm not the only one looking to steal this… could it be!? No…Rouge wouldn't be here. She works for G.U.N now with Shadow if I remember correctly._ The fourth and third guards exit the room; the first and second guards keep watch in front the security room.

Cream observes the flickering light in the middle of the hallway and strikes as the dark hits. She knocks both of them unconscious- targeting their pressure points and rests them in the nearby janitor's room. She proceeds to the security room and snatches the two maps. Cream sneaks into the nearby opening into the air vent and crawls around in the vents, passing by numerous rooms and finally arriving atr the auction room.

Cream peeks through the vent and quickly identifies the shiny Red Chaos Emerald, heavily protected by at least 20 muscular body guards. She waits patiently, taking a look at the map. _I'll need to shut off the lights first and then find a way to steal the Chaos Emerald. But, how? I can't reach here in time to retrieve it without someone detecting me…maybe I'll just wing it._

Cream continues forward until she arrives at the tech room. _Since it's the last item on the list of items they're auctioning off, then I'll have to hurry soon._ She exits the vent and scopes around the room.

"No one's here…" locking the door and barricading it shut with a nearby shelf.

She looks around finds all the switches, _The Chaos Emerald is in the back with around 20 guards, I should try to program the lights to shut off at a certain time._

She locates the computer and begins typing in random code-magically bypassing the firewall and gaining access to the network. She presses one final key that programs the lights to shut off in fifteen minutes.

"OK! Now to return back!" going back into the vent; everything's working in her favor so far.

She arrives back at the vent and studies the mannerisms of the guards, focusing intently on which guard to slip by for the rest of the remaining time. _3…2…1!_

The lights shut off and Cream darts for the Chaos Emerald, taking out four of the guards single handedly without any use of her guns and retrieves the Chaos Emerald, making a break for the vent again.

While in the vent, the alarm sounds and security tightens; Cream quietly crawls through the air vent. _Luckily I can exit through the vent at the back._ She arrives at the back vent and breaks through-the coast is clear; disappearing into the back alley.

Police sirens and lights fill the city as they search for the criminal, Cream sneaks past all the commotion and Stuff s the Chaos Emerald in her bag to avoid any suspicion as she emerges onto the main street. She continues walking forward with no one even paying any attention to her. _Alright! This is good! I should call a taxi and head to the hotel, walking all the way back won't be smart since it will raise the risk of me getting caught._ She looks at her phone with regret; _I wish I could call Amy..._

A projectile flies toward Cream; she detects it immediately and dodges it. She looks up and finds an army of Dr. Eggman's badniks-all lined up and ready for battle.

"Just my luck…"she says, taking out a pair Blue pistols from her bag.

She shoots every badnik in her way and dodges the big ones that swing at her; the civilians flee as battle ensues. Cream lands a no-look headshot on a banik that's sneaking behind her and dodges the one in front, blasting that badnik's head clean. Cream holds her defense, eliminating them one at a time.

"Where the heck are the cops!?" she yells in frustration, having to defend herself alone against the barrage of numerous badniks.

Cream performs a melee attack on a mech and sends the badnik flying but leaves herself open; a huge badnik with an axe appears before her and swings at her-she can't react fast enough to dodge and sees her impending doom.

Just at that moment, a Piko- Piko hammer slams the badnik sending it into the wall; Creams terrified at whose hammer that might be.

"CREAM!" Shouts Amy in anger, "When we get back to the hotel, you've got some explaining to do!"

Amy snaps her fingers and summons another hammer and destroys the rest of the badniks with absolute ease. Amy grabs Cream by the arm and pulls her back to the hotel, knowing she'll get scolded by Amy. At the hotel, Amy scolds Cream and then gives her a big hug.

"I'm glad you're safe at least." Pulling away from her, "But pull some reckless like that again and I'll show you my scary side!" releasing a dark aura.

"W-wait! I do have good news!" pleads Cream, reaching into her bag.

Amy's stern mood disappears, "That's…"

"Ta-da!" cheers Cream, handing her the bright Red Chaos Emerald.

"Where did you find this?" taking the emerald, stunned.

"I'll tell you later! Right now we need to leave!" hurries Cream; Amy begins to get suspicious.

"Why are you in a hurry?" inquires Amy looking back.

"We just need to leave now!" trying to get her to the door.

They leave Station Square with Amy unaware of Cream's actions. Cream explains how she got the Chaos Emerald once they took flight; Amy Karate chops her on the head and scolds her more. Amy takes out her phone and contacts Tails- who's in Apotos with Saffron searching for their Chaos Emerald.


	8. GE7 arc: Quick Progress in Apotos

"That's great news Amy! Hold onto that Chaos Emerald and spend the rest of your time traveling however you want until we find them all. I'll relay the news to the other groups later." Tails hangs up and continues browsing Apotos from a boat. He looks at his phone, which displays a map of the Chaos Emerald's location.

"Approximately, we are about a few minutes away from our destination. It's straight ahead according to the map." Notifying Saffron, whom had her binoculars on searching around for anything suspicious, searching across the isles like a guard, so intimidating!

"Wait…Tails check this out!" waving him over, "I think we're having some company."

"How so…?" taking a look through the binoculars, he sees a cave with a bunch of familiar enemies occupying, "Those look like Dr. Eggman's badniks!" he hands her the binoculars and runs over to his duffle bag, taking out a rocket launcher.

"What the heck? Where'd you…?

"I made it. It's able to fire about 20 total missiles; could you do a favor and lower your head and cover your ears?"

She ducks down and closes her eyes and covers her ears; Tails pulls the trigger and a huge rocket fires from the gun with a loud bang erupting. The rocket blasts the group of badniks away; they arrive at the cave a few minutes later.

"So _he_ got there first…" states Saffron, stretching in preparation for a battle.

Tails halts her and exits the boat, with a custom made Race yellow blaster in his hand. He scopes the area and then signals her over; they both venture in to the Dark cave.

"This is a large cave! We've been walking for a while now." says Saffron, feeling the wall.

They arrive at the center of the cave and find the purple emerald waiting for them; Saffron grabs it with ease-expecting something to happen.

"I guess we're all good!" she says tossing him the emerald.

"But this doesn't feel right…" catching the emerald, he takes out his phone and issues a call to everyone. "Come in, I repeat, come in. Has anyone obtained a chaos emerald? If so, did you have and run-ins with Dr. Eggman or his badniks…" the head set gets all frying sounds since reception isn't good since they're in a cave.

"Maybe we should just head back, luck might be on our side." Taking a head start; leaving Tails behind.

Tails stands along in the room, pondering the Chao Emerald. _Wait…when we got here, there was a small group of Dr. Eggman's creations here…if they aren't here, then they must be…!_ Saffron storms back to tails, her clothes are partially ripped.

"Tails, there's more badniks than before! I saw a dozen heading this way, who knows how many might be outside!" Tails stays composed, opening up his bag pack.

"Here..." handing her a gun casually.

"Whoa...!? I don't use guns though…" holding the gun at a distance by the tip of her fingers; Tails gave her a plain look.

"Look, we need to escape this cave. We already have what we came for, and they don't." he takes out two twin blasters instead of his yellow pistol, "I'll take down as many as I can. You make a straight run for the boat when a path is cleared, I'll follow right behind you…" he gives her the Chaos Emerald and checks for the enemy. Saffron looks at Tails, confused; _Knuckles said this guy was a nerd...must be the cool ones then._

The badniks shoot at them aimlessly; Tails rolls across the ground-shooting. He lands two headshots on them, "Ten to go." Tails blasts five more in succession and then tosses them in the air-performing a back flip scissors kick on another badnik, catching both blasters in midair and shooting another two down; Saffron gives him applause.

"That was awesome!"

"Alright, let's continue moving!"

They rush out the cave and reach the cove where an army of Eggman's badniks awaits. Tails shoots a bunch down, taking cover by the rock as the remainder fire at them. He grabs a grenade from his bag and throws it at the pack, causing a huge explosion.

"Run!" directs Tails, running into the giant cloud of smoke.

They arrive at the boat and make their getaway; Tails bombards a bunch of rockets from his rocket launcher to silence the mayhem. Tails contacts the others to let them know that they've secured the second Chaos Emerald. Saffron pilots the boat as Tails briefs them on what's happened.

"Seems like Dr. Eggman knows we're coming!" says Sonic on the other line.

"We've secured the third emerald!" reports Vector from Holoska.

"Same here, the fourth emerald is in our possession." States Julie-Su; Knuckles was in the background yelling about something.

"I just defeated a large amount of badniks…But I also have an emerald with me, make that five." Adds Espio, hanging up immediately.

"Sorry, we're currently battle some badniks of our own. We'll let you know when we obtain the Chaos Emerald." Says Mighty; badniks could be heard in the background.

"Sonic, have you found your emerald?" asks Tails, relaxing back and admiring the sea breeze.

"Not yet. I'll make sure to notify everyone when I do." Hanging up afterwards in a hurry; He must be tired by now since he opted to run instead of using a plane.

Tails hangs up and turns to Saffron, "this works out much better than I thought. Now, we just need Sonic to collect the final emerald and we can finally launch a counter attack."


	9. GE7 arc: Roque: the 12th seat

In the Red desert, a terrible sandstorm passes…knocking and sand everywhere at a rapid pace. It's evening here with not a single home or shelter nearby; Sonic runs at full speed, leaving a trail of sand flying in the air behind him. Although its evening, the sand is very much hot, so hot that Sonic's sweat dries immediately after impact with it. Sonic's running at this incredible speed because he can't afford to slow down; the sand will pierce his fur and really sting him if he stops.

 _Ugh, is there really nowhere to rest? I can't continue to run these conditions…_ looking down at his shoes, they were state of the art super shoes that Tails built during their research to enhance his performance on all terrain. They resembled his normal shoes but had a catch to them, the shoes weighed a ton, forcing sonic to strengthen his legs. _I know thanks to these things I can run near light speed when I set my mind to it…But they're taking a toll._ Sonic ups the tempo, breaking the sound barrier and bursts out the sandstorm; He sees the clear blue sky before him with an oasis in the distance. _Just a little further!_ Pushing himself beyond his average might, arriving at the oasis a moment later with sweat covering his face and panting like a starved dog.

"Finally, I can get some rest." Taking off his shoes and dipping his feet in the ice cold water, "Ahh." He moans as the water tickles his feet.

"Looks like I've really lost my touch…" taking out his phone and checking the map, "Ok, so the emerald's about 12 miles west of here. I should retire here for the night and continue in the morning.

The next morning, Sonic makes up great time and arrives at a deep ravine: the location of the chaos emerald. Sonic looks around, everything's bright reddish orange, from rocks to sand with a warm wind blowing ever so lightly; Someone watches Sonic from the top of the canyon.

"Looks like this must be the place…"he looks at the map, "The Chaos Emerald should be here…" he wanders around the perimeter, unaware that he's being watched from above. He finds the Chaos Emerald semi buried in the red sand, kneeling down to dig it up.

Sonic contacts Tails, "Found it, I'm heading back now."

The mystery figure jumps from the canyon and lands before sonic; He's a Mole with yellowish-brown fur, black boots, and gloves similar to Knuckles-only this time black with pointy finger ends as opposed to a mitten; he also has slicked back hair and an arrogant smile.

"So you're the famous hedgehog I've heard so much about, been looking forward to this day!" –Sonic takes a defensive stance, protecting the emerald.

"Who are you?" Scooting further back from the mole as he takes

"I'm Roque, a mole from the east, Shamar to be specific." Politely bowing down to him; Roque seems to have a fond respect for him.

"Tell me…have you heard of a hedgehog named Spade? He's one of the four outlaws around the world…" He pauses, hoping Sonic would remember the person, "Anyway, he's told me all about you."

"I don't know this Spade, but whoever he is…he is sadly mistaken." Holding up his fists, ready for battle; Roque guffaws at his impatience.

"The world is vast place, so I can understand if you may not remember him. It is also very understandable to be the way you are based on your previous merits…" his gloves turn into stone, "Don't underestimate the 12th seat of the Council of Saints kiddo!"

Sonic tilts his head with curiosity, "The Council of the 12 saints… never heard of them!"

Roque gasps in horror, "The 12 saints are the strongest members within the United Federation. We are the 12 that spread justice across the world!"

"hmmm, strongest members huh? United Federation…!" Sonic gets wide-eyed becoming engaged, "United Federation is the same government that has G.U.N as their military! Hey, do you by any chance know Shadow the Hedgehog?"

"Why yes, the Black hedgehog known as the ultimate life form…" recalling his encounter with him, "He was a difficult opponent but one I'd love to spar with!"

Sonic's eyes shine, "you fought him!? Who won?" sitting on the floor like a little kid, "Tell me!"

"I won of course. He was quite a challenge but, he was defeated in the end." Roque says with pride; Sonic's in awe.

"Well…it seems you've become acquainted with Roque…" Dr. Eggman appears in his eggmobile with that signature evil smile of his; accompanied by Cubot and Orbot.

"Eggman!?" yells Sonic, turning his attention to him, "Sorry Roque, I must take down this guy first. Our fight will have to wait."

"Now Sonic, don't you think it's rude to challenge your arch enemy that you haven't seen in two years?" sarcastically said with that obnoxious laugh afterwards.

"It appears you're mistaken Sonic …" Roque says in a cryptic voice; Sonic looks at him, lost.

"Roque and I are partners for now! I've obtained his service for my hunt of the Master Emerald, in return, I find him opponents worthy of battling him."

Sonic slowly turns to Roque, realizing how screwed he was. Roque's facial expression is completely terrifying; he's got a look of blood lust oozing from him. Sonic gulps, clenching his fists and getting into fighting stance.

"So that's why you fought Shadow, Knuckles and Espio." Says Sonic in a shaken voice, understanding just how deadly Roque is.

"Show me just who the Blue Blur is!" charging at Sonic with full speed; Sonic dodges and keeps a distance.

"I can't believe the United Federation would allow this!" keeping his eyes on the vicious Roque; Roque laughs at Sonic ignorance.

"Fool! The U.F. know nothing of this; it's a deal done under the table." Loosening his arms, "The U.F. isn't a pure organization; everyone there is corrupt in some form or fashion."

The hot wind begins to pick up speed, the dust flies everywhere, hiding the sunlight and blurring the vision of Sonic and Roque. Sonic coughs as he struggles to find a proper space to breathe, but Roque inhales and exhales perfectly.

"I'll show you the power of the 12th seat!" walking over to sonic, building rock armor across his body.


	10. GE7 arc: Sonic Vs Roque

"The Stage is set! Sonic: the famed blue blur vs. Roque: the powerful 12th seat!" cheers Dr. Eggman with excitement.

Sonic analyzes Roque's armor, "Rock power, huh?" _the armor looks like a couple spin dashes and homing attacks could geet it done…but if he's a 12_ _th_ _seat of this Saint Council thingy, he must have more cards up his sleeve than this simple rock armor suit._

Roque stomps his right foot, sending a large pile of earth airborne, and then throws every single one of them at Sonic. _What the heck!?_ Sonic jumps back-avoiding every rock, barely; Roque rushes at him with full speed and trucks him into a wall.

"Ow…that rock armor is harder than I thought!" rubbing his head as he recovers from the direct hit.

"Of course, part of my ability is that I can harden the molecules of the earth itself. I'm able to make Rock harder and as indestructible as solid titanium!" Roque creates a giant hammer made of rock, "now come, I wish to not be disappointed after hearing so much about you from Spade and Dr. Eggman."

Sonic becomes annoyed, "I don't know this Spade guy! Stop bringing him up!" he charges up his spin dash and then collides with his rock armor. Roque throws his rock hammer on the ground and catches him, slams him on the ground, then picks up his rock hammer from the ground. He makes a power swing at Sonic; Sonic rolls out the way and distances himself.

"Whoa there…! Looking to kill me!?" barks Sonic, waving his fist in anger with smoke puffing out from his ears.

"If you don't want to die then I suggest you put up a better fight!" mocks Roque; Sonic's annoyance grows.

"Fine…" Sonic gets up and stretches.

Sonic sprints at Roque and then quickly spin dashes into him then, he rolls back, spin dashing-then does a homing attack, landing a hit on him. Roque's armor doesn't even have a dent.

"I guess I should've expected much…." Tightening his white gloves, "that's quite the armor you've got."

Sonic takes a deep breath, his expression changes from the cocky one he'd been boasting up until this point to one with experience written all over his face. Sonic cracks his knuckles and charges up his spin dash.

"That's the expression I've been waiting to see!" claps Dr. Eggman with excitement.

"Show me what you got, Sonic!" declares Roque, flexing with his rock hammer.

Sonic dashes at him and does a homing attack on his back, weakening that part of his armor. _I had a feeling so…the reason why he must be the 12_ _th_ _seat and not higher must be because a certain part of his armor is weaker! I'll focus on that then._ Sonic aims once more at Roque's back, but rock swats him away, knocking Sonic's body at the wall.

Sonic staggers to his feet, _He's…not supposed-"_ You're thinking how it is that I'm able to be so mobile..." finishing Sonic's thought; Sonic sharpens his glare.

"Sonic, your speed is unrivaled! I don't think Daytona, the 10th seat and speed specialist, could match your speed." Roque tightens his grip on his hammer, "That's why I won't hold back! I want to take down the fastest thing alive!"

Sonic snaps, losing complete focus. He rushes in full speed and performs multiple homing attacks at rapid pace, destroying Roque's armor. Roque falls back in shock; he quickly recovers himself as Sonic prepares for his next attack.

Dr. Eggman chimes in, "Roque isn't someone that'll be defeated so easily, he's the fight-hungry 12th seat! He's capable moving the earth!" Roque regains his confidence and powers up; summoning rocks around him.

"I'm impressed with your performance, indeed you're as people rate you." Giving props to Sonic's incredible speed, "Sadly this match is over…"

"How so..? As I see it, I have the momentum!" snarls Sonic, getting overconfident again; Roque creates a barely visible barrier around him.

The ground begins to quake, the ravines shiver in fear at the might of Roque as he makes preparation for a devastating attack. The surrounding air is sucked up along with the quake; Sonic's left immobile, one bad move and he could fall, leaving his guard open.

Roque releases all the air pressure that built up in his barrier, the impact stuns Sonic, forcing him to kneel down-resisting the overwhelming pressure. Sonic keeps a good resistance, breaking through the air pressure. Roque charges at Sonic with full force; Sonic tries to dodge, but gets caught in one of Roque's traps that he'd set up.

Roque gets closer, "I knew you'd try to escape! I made sure to set up as many traps as needed." The rock traps were made of the same indestructible Titanium-like rock; Sonic tries to spin dash, but to no success.

Roque lands a critical blow on Sonic, punching him straight in the temple with his rock glove; Sonic doesn't falter, biting his lip in agony. Roque dishes punch after punch on Sonic, treating him like a punching bag. He ends the beat down by knocking Sonic out with the Rock hammer; Sonic lies on the floor, unconscious with blood trickling down from his head.

Dr. Eggman applauses Roque, "Excellent work, I don't believe anyone's brutally beaten Sonic like that before!" Roque doesn't look satisfied with the result. He crouches down next to Sonic's body, gently making a cross, and gets up.

 _It's a shame…I heard from Spade that you're one the special ones that could've controlled Blue flames…I was hoping to ignite and extinguish them myself but, it appears that couldn't happen. Rest in Peace._

Dr. Eggman grabs the Chao Emerald and they make their exit onto his ship; leaving Sonic there to die. Thunder rumbles as heavy rain begins to fall, something very uncharacteristic in the red desert and red canyon, the area famously know for having very little rainfall.

"Looks like your Tremor was powerful enough to summon a thunderstorm!" awed Dr. Eggman.

"Yes, it happens whenever I use my Tremor ability…" he sits back and looks out the window, "Dr. Eggman, I helped you get one Chaos Emeralds. There are six more you need, yes?"

"Correct the rest we will gather very shortly. Don't worry; you'll get more people to fight…although not on the scale of Sonic." Lowering his tone in lament; Roque observes his sudden emotion.

"You have quite a history with Sonic…perhaps you guys weren't bitter enemies?"

"Of course he's my bitter enemy!" lashes Dr. Eggman, "It's just…I've come to respect him. I hate his guts of course, but, I didn't hate him enough to kill him…but I'm not surprised to see someone of your level easily exterminate a pest like him." looking lost in his own words.

Back over at the scene of the fight, Sonic remains unconscious on the ground,his head drenched in his own blood from the open wound, with heavy rain beating down; His phone rings, the caller ID read: Tails.


	11. GE7 arc: 11 Days left

A week passes by and the others have returned to Sonic's mansion; everyone has Chaos Emerald in their hand. Tails awaits them in the conference room, checking off everyone's name on the checklist.

"Ok, seems like everyone's here." Keeping his eyes on the paper; everyone else look at each, realizing someone is missing.

"Tails…where is Sonic…?" concerns Amy; the others are also worried.

"I tried contacting him last week…" shrugging his shoulders; Amy has a face of disapproval.

"You haven't called again to check on him!?" Raising her voice suddenly; Tails backs away.

"Hold on now…"-he puts his hands up to calm her-"Sonic can handle himself, he'll be fine, he's probably found the Chaos Emerald about now." Tails didn't sound too sincere; perhaps he also worried for Sonic's safety?

Amy's unconvinced, "I don't know…something tells me we should go look for him. Sonic's not the kind of person to not tell us anything if he's in danger."

There's a sudden pause in the room; an incoming video call displays on the giant monitor. Tails clicks it and Dr. Eggman appears, holding the Chaos Emerald, with Roque and Orbot and Cubot in the background.

"It's quite nice to see you all again. Mrs. Rose and young Cream, Knuckles and the Chaotix and of course Tails…" the mood intensifies as he guffaws, showing off the shiny Green emerald.

"How'd you get that!" points Knuckles at the Chaos Emerald.

"Simple, Roque here crushed a certain Blue hedgehog to a bloody pulp. We grabbed our prize after the show! It's up to you if you want to retrieve his corpse." Amy drops her emerald on the floor and her lips quiver, falling back into the chair in complete disbelief.

"Where…where is he!" she screams, trying to deny the image in her head of the possibility.

"He is somewhere near the Red Canyon, if you're lucky, his body won't be rotting yet." Dr. Eggman places the emerald in front, "My business is with you all. I want to make an exchange with you, the 7 Chaos Emeralds for the Master Emerald. It's what you want, eh Knuckles?" waving the emerald at them.

"You're insane if you think we'd ever hand them to you!" yells Cream.

Tails massages his eyes, "How did you even get our IP address?"

"It was simple; I've been following you five since my failure on the Lost Hex. I tracked all your movements and studied you closely, learning of all your strengths and weaknesses and of your plans to take me down and retrieve the Master Emerald!"

Everyone's surprised and stay silent, knowing they can't hide the plan. Dr. Eggman takes out a map and shows them it. "Our Rendezvous will take place on the abandoned G.U.N base located 600 miles off the shore of Adabat. I shall give you 11 days of preparation before the deal is off."

"And what if we don't accept your conditions…" proposes Julie-Su, wanting to call Dr. Eggman's bluff.

"I'll attack you all myself and take all 7 Chaos Emerald's to go along with the Master Emerald."-Silencing Julie-Su-"So…Do we have a deal?"Folding his hands together and relaxing back, waiting for response from Tails.

"You have a deal…" agrees Tails, "But promise me you won't try anything funny." Taking off his glasses and glaring a Dr. Eggman.

"You have my word Tails, no funny business." Dr. Eggman hangs up; everyone yells at Tails, disagreeing with his choice.

"Tails, we have no business making a deal with Dr. Eggman!" argues Knuckles.

"We can take him down with these numbers!" joins Mighty.

"Shut up!" responds Tails, silencing them. He sighs heavily, "Look, I understand if you don't agree with my choice but, we have no logical option. If we fight that Roque guy, we'll be in serious trouble."

"Wait…! Sonic, we have to find Sonic!" panics Amy, looking for the exit.

He stays calm, "Ok, we make two teams: Search team and Medical team. The search team will search for him while the medical team takes care of him once he's been retrieved. The Search team will be composed of Amy, Knuckles, Cream, Mighty, Ray and myself; the rest of you will be the medical team, make preparations for a room for him."-Turning to Charmy-"make sure your equipment set up by the time we return!" Tails and the others mentioned above leave in the jets and set their destination for the Red canyon.

Back at the Red Canyon, Sonic hauls himself over to a nearby rock and rests there; his legs are dead, so had to drag his entire body by his arm. He places his hand where the open wound is and sees something he would rather not. _Well, that's not a good sign…_ his right glove is completely red, he can only open one eye due to the wound being very close to the eyes. He pants, struggling to rise to his feet. He grabs the rock as support and forces himself up, leaning against the rock; his strength depleted.

 _I can't…I can't let them reach the others…They'll die!_ He attempts to run, but fails, opening his wound even more as he collapses to the floor. _This is pathetic! The Sonic from two years back would slap me silly._ Laughing alone; He ponders on the words of Roque, the words about the mysterious Spade. _Who…the hell is Spade? And how…does he know me…?_ he fades away more and more as blood spills from his wound, _So this is what it feels like…my own blood…it's so warm and red, now I feel so hollow. Everyone, I'm sorry…_ He passes out from the blood loss.

The search team arrives at the Red canyon 2 hours later; Amy is anxious to find Sonic, Knuckles stays close to Mighty and Ray, Tails keeps guard of Cream. Amy searches restless and finds a body lying in a puddle of blood; Amy shrieks in horror, running over to him as fast as she could. She holds him and begins to sob, pressing her head against his.

Tails scoots in, "Amy, we need to recover him…" gently prying Sonic from her grasps; Amy's broken.

"Amy, please retain your composure…" comforts Cream, giving her a hug.

They get back on the ship and fly to the Emerald Republic, holding sonic in a room by himself; Amy sits by his side, gazing at the one she once loved with obsession, grabbing his hand and making a prayer.

In the main room, the guys try to get gossip from cream about Amy's feelings for Sonic, but Cream doesn't throw her out there. Tails pilots the ship and also shows interest in the conversation at hand, turning the system to autopilot to join in.

Knuckles starts acting childish, "C'mon Cream, spill the beans…I thought Amy was over Sonic!"

"I won't answer! Now quit meddling in her affairs, don't you have a woman of your own to worry about?" sassing at Knuckles; the others make an "ooooh" sound after he just got told.

"I'm not meddling; it's simply that Amy seemingly changed. She took up Archery, and martial arts-things she'd never do, ever! She ends up going on her own adventures and to cap it all off, she gave us the impression that she moved on from him. I thought it was the best move on her part."

Cream sighs in frustration, "Look, she never got over him. She grew up, realizing that she wasn't going to win him over if she was so clingy to him. She buried her emotions deep down and never even discussed his name in the past two years; She honestly looked emotionless-even growing out her quills, attempting to release her feelings for him with that as her symbolism."

The others pause as they near the Emerald Republic, "So she just repressed her feelings?" asks Mighty, fully engaged.

Cream nods, "Amy didn't show any sign of happiness, until a few weeks back when we first came to Emerald Republic and happened to run into a certain Blue blur. She was elated after that; she didn't show it around you guys because of how obvious she crushed on him in the past. It'd be a headache if she followed the same pattern as back then."

"Ok…" jumps Tails, switching subjects, "we have 11 days to come up with a plan, what you propose we do?"

Everyone stands silent, with no idea of a plan. Amy enters the room, her eyes are flushed from all the crying and she doesn't look in any mood to converse. She sits down at the table and covers her head.

"Get me an aspirin, Cream."

Tails turns to Amy in hope that she has an idea, "Amy, what do you think we should do next? "

Amy gets irritated, "You're joking right? Do you not see who is dying right now!? You call yourself his best friend?" Amy gets up and walks away in disgust; Tails stands mute, with the others staring at him.

"I trust Sonic, he's not one to let something like this kill him…" they arrive at Emerald Republic and rush sonic to the mansion; the hospital would be too expensive and too much hassle since the patient would be a super famous hedgehog.

Entering the mansion, they placed Sonic in his room upstairs where Charmy and Saffron waited to tend to him. The rest stand out in the hallway; Amy's outside in the backyard, wanting to be alone. It's a frantic period for everyone, Dr. Eggman applied pressure to them, a new and powerful enemy has surfaced, and Sonic's near death. Only 11 days until a battle approaches…


	12. GE7 arc: Never trust an Egg (man)

11 days passed by since Sonic's retrieval, he still didn't wake up, but he was definitely fine. Everyone decided that Sonic wouldn't be a part of this mission due to his injuries. Unfortunately, no one could come up with a plan to prevent the Chaos Emeralds from being present on the day of battle. They left early in the morning and flew down to the area near Adabat, searching for the abandoned base for the rendezvous with Dr. Eggman. About 600 miles off the coast of Adabat is where the base was located lying in the middle of the ocean.

The base resembled the traditional G.U.N bases on the water front; only thing was that this base was abandoned with the structure still in good condition. Tails piloted the massive ship to land in the nearby water, next they had to take custom made jet skis to the base, using the grappling hooks to reach up. Tails and Knuckles didn't need one, so they carried along Cream and Julie-Su, while everyone else had to grind it out and climb.

Once they reached the surface of the base, they encountered the enemy, the same enemy that nearly killed Sonic. Amy grits her teeth with revenge in her eyes, wielding her Piko-Piko hammer; Cream rests her hand on her back, calming her down.

"Amy…he's not worth it…please calm down!"

Knuckles came forward, "So you have the audacity to show your face after stealing the Master Emerald!? Everyone… this bastard is mine! I have a bone to pick with him." cracking his knuckles with a mean glare, approaching Roque.

Dr. Eggman appears before them with an army of various badniks and GE7 behind him and all the way in the back behind that army, the Master Emerald. Dr. Eggman guffaws at Knuckles' comment, bringing the Master Emerald forward.

"Now…I held my end to the bargain! Where are the Chaos Emeralds?"

Tails came forward, holding all 7 of them. As Tails approaches closer, Knuckles felt something wrong with the Master Emerald.

 _The Master Emerald…why can't I resonate with it…? Maybe…_ Knuckles realized at the moment exactly what was up.

"Tails don't! It's a fake! He tricked us into bringing them!"

Tails was already too late; he was so close to Dr. Eggman that Dr. Eggman just swiped the chaos Emeralds out of his hands, striking Tails into the ocean immediately; Cream jumps in to rescue him. Knuckles charges into Roque and slams him into the wall.

"Minions…Attack!" ordered Dr. Eggman, returning to GE7.

Knuckles throws jab-after-jab at Roque, applying more force in each punch, not allowing Roque to recover. Knuckles grabs him by the leg and throws him into the wall, shattering the entire building. Roque coughs up a little bit of blood, wiping the drip from his mouth.

"Hey now..! I like your intensity, why didn't you show me this strength the first time we met!?" panted Roque, becoming thrilled with the strength that Knuckles showcased.

"It's simple, you pissed me off."

"I like it…" responded Roque, in a deeper and terrifying tone, showing his sharp teeth; Knuckles charges at him, yelling with intensity as Roque prepared to block.

At the same time, Amy and the others were locked in battle with the army of badniks. Amy destroyed her set of badniks, leaving a pile of rubble behind. Mighty showcased his unbelievable strength, meeting his quota of badniks destroyed; along with the help of Julie-Su, who shot down the remaining badniks as Ray flew after .

Espio throws shurikens at the badniks in his section, Vector batters and bruises his share as well; they weren't the same as two years ago, all of them could fight, and proficiently too.

Knuckles exchanges devastating blows with Roque, their match has now become a test of resiliency with both of them exerting more energy than before. Knuckles stood at a disadvantage, since he can't dig underground to create a tactic to go against Roque's hard defense; he's forced into a surface battle against 12th seat, who hasn't even used his rock abilities as of yet.

The others chased Dr. Eggman inside of the navy building, attempting to stop his attempt of using the Chaos Emeralds. Dr. Eggman hurried on GE7, transeferring the energy of the Chaos Emeralds into GE7 before the others can arrive. GE7 grew stronger as each emerald loaded its energy into it, the process only lasted a minute. By the time the others arrive, it's too late; GE7 has completed his transformation with the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, now he looked very similar to Emerl, except he was green. The Chaos Emeralds fall to the fall to the floor, discolored, as the others begin to realize what has just happened.

Sonic wakes up from his slumber back at the mansion, feeling the effects of the Chaos Emeralds being depleted of their energy. He searches the mansion for the others, but no one's there. Sonic stands still and concentrates his thoughts onto the location of the Chaos Emeralds. His mind visualizes the location, giving him the exact scene of Amy and the others about to battle against GE7. He breaks in a cold sweat, storming out the house and running at full speed across the world, even running on water. "If I don't get there in time, everyone will be in grave danger!" breaking the sound barrier.

"Everyone, I would to introduce you to GE7. He will be the cornerstone of My Eggman Empire! Gnahahahaha! Prepare to meet your demise…" announced Dr. Eggman jubilantly.

GE7 attacks them swiftly, using chaos energy similar to that of Shadow. Amy deflects his attacks with her Piko-Piko hammer; Mighty and Ray charge in on a 2-on -1, Julie-Su stands back-ready to fire, Espio falls back to help Knuckles after hearing another boom from outside.

Amy sets her sights on Dr. Eggman, taking out her Bow and Arrow. GE7 quickly defeats Ray and Mighty and then knocks Julie-Su unconscious; he heads straight for Amy.

 _Can this GE7 detect feelings; maybe he has feelings of his own..?_ Realizing how uncharacteristic it was for any of Dr. Eggman's creations to come to his defense. GE7 cuts off Amy's path to Dr. Eggman, the battle between Amy and GE7 stood set.

Back outside, Knuckles struggled against Roque, who tossed him around like a ragdoll. Knuckles staggered to his feet-"Is that all you've got!?" smirked Knuckles, with a line of blood falling down his face, another hit to the face and he'd be in serious danger.

"I applaud you for your persistence, you may not be as strong as Sonic…but at least you held your own…" summoning his Rock hammer, ready to end the fight that needed to end long ago, it's a miracle that Knuckles stay in the fight for so long, considering his disadvantage.

Knuckles snapped as he heard Roque's comment, "Excuse me…did you compare me to that damn idiot..? I'll kill you!" punching his fists together with ravenous eyes; Roque's blood lust grew as he saw Knuckles intensity increase. _That's right…show your full strength..! Push me to my utmost limit! I commend you, Knuckles the Echidna!_

Both of them charge at each other and throw a powerful punch to the face, Roque absorbs the punch, but clearly staggers from the effects; Knuckles was unconscious, that final punch took him down for good. Espio arrives at the scene to see his captain bloodied and bruised.

"Knuckles..!" he screamed, running over to aid him. Charmy and Saffron also appear from the building where Amy and GE7 were about to fight, they had been assisting in the treatment of Julie-Su, Vector, Mighty and Ray. Charmy flew over with his medical kit.

"Don't worry Espio, I'll handle Knuckles. Saffron, do me a favor and check on the others to make sure they're ok, bring them here if necessary…and give this to whoever might still be fighting…" he tossed a bottle to her, and she went on her way back to Amy and company.

Espio shows four shurikens and draws out his chrome blade and purple dagger, "It's about time I get my revenge for what happened as well…"-turning to Knuckles-"Don't worry captain, I'll handle this one."

Roque stands there, intrigued by the sudden change in the Purple chameleon's behavior, his stealth persona faded, instead stood a warrior ready to fight; this fired up Roque even more. Espio throws the shurikens at him, but Roque blocks them with his Rock shield.

"So now you show your abilities…" stated Espio, calmly taking out three shurikens.

"Of course, any experienced fighter can sense a dangerous opponent. The look in your eye…"-grinning from ear-to-ear with pleasure-"It's terrifying!"

Espio throws the shurikens, disappearing in the air as he threw them; Roque uses his spherical rock shield, building his Rock armor. He breaks out the Rock shield, decorated in his heavy Rock armor; it's finally getting serious for him. Espio rolls behind him and takes a strike at the back of his armor with his Purple dagger. Roque absorbs the hit, turning around to Espio, but Espio disappears yet again.

Charmy observes the tactics that his friend was using; _to think Espio would use these tactics against this guy…is he really that strong?_

Espio draws his Chrome katana, slashing at his armor from behind. Roque turns again to position himself, but Espio disappears again, frustrating Roque. Roque laughs to himself, bringing out his Rock hammer-"Hey now! Fight me like a man!"

At the same time, Amy and GE7 were in the midst of their battle. Amy had been holding her own against the powerful foe. Amy glances at her friends, all of them are out of it. _As it stands, I won't hold my own if I continue like this with them around…they are my first priority._ Amy backs away and sprints to them, GE7halts, allowing her to help her friends; Saffron returns with the medicine.

"Amy here…" handing her the potion.

"Thanks…do me a favor and take them to the ship; we can't risk their lives any longer."

"Yeah, I'll carry them to Charmy, he'll take care of them. Make sure to save that potion for the last minute…"

Amy nods as Saffron carries Julie-Su and Ray on her shoulders. Amy guards Mighty and Vector, keeping her sight on GE7. GE7 stands still, awaiting Dr. Eggman's orders. Dr. Eggman remains mute, simply observing her; she was creeped out by his stare.

"Amy Rose…you're more ruthless than before…more aware and skilled…what changed you?" Asked Dr. Eggman,

Amy's silent, her eyes lock on him with suspicion as GE7 moves closer to her. Amy slowly draws her Piko-Piko hammer, ready to strike in self-defense. Saffron returns to pick up the next two; after she leaves, Amy resumes her attention to GE7.

"Now we can finally go all out, prepare yourself GE7."

Amy sprints toward GE7, showing pure determination in her form as she angles her hammer, ready to slam a critical hit on the robot. GE7 transforms his arms into guns, shooting at Amy, but Amy avoids the bullets.

Dr. Eggman continues his observation on her movements, _her speed has improved remarkably; she's almost as fast as Sonic!_

Amy leaps forward and swings her hammer, nearly taking off GE7's head. GE7 jumps back, returning to base form. Amy prepares for what lies ahead, planting her feet firm, ready. GE7 releases a green glow of light from his body, blinding Amy, then rushing at her with full speed and punching her in the gut, sending her into the wall and destroying the wall completely.

Roque and Espio's battle still goes strong as Espio keeps the fight to a standstill, refusing to fall into Roque's trap of a head-on battle. _If I allow even a moment of hesitation in my movement, then I put myself at risk for a straightforward battle with him. I can't allow that by any means necessary!_

Espio attacks again, but this time Roque read his movements, and catches his arm. Roque slams Espio to the ground, brutally punching him in the fame with his Rock glove. Espio eats every punch, his face swelling as blood drips from his nose, fading into unconsciousness; Charmy wails as his friend suffers a beatdown before his eyes.

Just at that moment, Cream and Tails return, soaking wet. Cream saw Charmy'stears, Knuckles, Julie-Su, and Ray lying helpless before him and Espio brutally beaten. Her face turns red with anger as she pulls out her twin pistols slowly approaching Roque. Saffron runs to Charmy with Vector and Mighty on her shoulders; Tails rushes over.

"Tails..! Thank goodness, you're back. We need you to bring them onto the ship; any longer they stay out here could be dangerous." Declared Charmy, tending to everyone's wounds; GE7 and Dr. Eggman exit the building with GE7 carrying Amy by the hair.

Dr. Eggman throws the Chaos Emeralds on the floor before them, while GE7 stares at Amy, then tossing her over to charmy; Cream's enraged, gritting her teeth and breathing heavy. Roque lowers his guard, knowing that everything's over now…

"Well. Dr. Eggman, looks like you got what you wanted. I suppose we'll be leaving now?" remarked Roque amicably holding his arms out wide.

Dr. Eggman approaches him, "Well Roque, a job well done. Unfortunately…GE7 and I won't need you any longer." GE7 stabs him in the chest with spear made from his arm; everyone's stunned by Dr. Eggman's betrayal.

Cream's eyes turn red with anger by the events that have transpired, locking and loading her guns. GE7 stands before Cream, transforming his arms into guns as well both of them piercing into eye other's minds. Another battle is about to happen: Cream vs. GE7, the Arms specialist against the Global Eradicator.


	13. GE7 arc: Cream's Resolve

"You'll pay…I'll make you pay!-clenching her fists with vengeance in her eyes-"How dare you hurt Amy…! How can you stab someone in the back like that!? I'll destroy your mech right here, right now!"

Dr. Eggman shows no amuse to Cream's anger, _that little bunny has certainly changed into a scary one; can two years really change such a sweet and innocent little girl into this...?_ "Cream, I will warn you just this once…"-holding his hands out-"I don't desire to harm you, please move out the way…"

Cream doesn't answer, Dr. Eggman sighed, knowing it would have to happen anyways. "GE7…Attack!" commanded Dr. Eggman, moving himself out the way.

GE7 charges at Cream, shooting at her; Cream does a row of backbend kickovers, avoiding the bullets successfully.

"Your flexibility is about as identical to Amy's…" remarked Dr. Eggman, impressed with her new skills.

Cream shoots a round at GE7, testing out his reflexes; GE7 blocks them with ease. Cream smirks, knowing what kind of intensity will be needed to defeat such a powerful foe. GE7 opens up the rocket boots and flies at Cream with speed, Cream moves out the way, firing shots and the back of GE7. GE7 opens up a barrier for protection.

 _He has a barrier? Dammit…Ok so he's got a barrier, interchangeable modes for combat-only showing me his guns and arms, and excellent speed. Judging from this, it looks like my simple pistols will be of no use. I'll need to bring out the CP2 pistols…_

The CP2 pistols were rapid fire pistols that Cream found during her adventure with Amy in the Alzaya Mountains. The pistols were constructed of solid iron and were stained with blood when she found them. She decided to keep them, coating the gun in Cream, Blue, Orange and Brown paint. She found Carbon bullets in them and around the gun with dead bodies scattered around the gun; Carbon bullets were special bullets that exploded on impact, releasing toxic carbon across the body-killing their target, they were deemed inhumane by the United Federation and disposed of, but apparently only one set remained of those very bullets and that accursed gun paired with it.

 _I've been avoiding the use of these guns due to the horrific results that befall the victim. Since my hands have already been stained with blood, since my hands carry the sins of my experience…I have no choice but to use these inhumane weapons!_

The glint in Cream's eye sharpened as she draws out her infamous guns; Dr. Eggman knew of those horrific guns, the lives that had been taken because of that very same gun.

"Cream, why do you have such terrible weapons…do you not know of the history those guns carry?" asked Dr. Eggman in a shocked tone; Cream's glare grows.

"Of course I know the history behind the cursed guns. I know of the consequences that come with using them, but even so…if it means that I can stop you guys, it's all worth it."

Dr. Eggman's concern radiates, "foolish child! That weapon will be the end of you! Put that gun down now! GE7 get that gun!"

Cream charges at GE7, shooting those Carbon bullets at GE7. GE7 blocks them again, but this time the bullets rip through his arm-exploding. GE7 falls to one knee, trying to repair its broken arm; Cream leaps forward shooting a pair at his legs. Cream closes in and pistol whips GE7 repeatedly, knocking the bolts from his head.

"Cream, stop this! You're making a huge mistake…" pleaded Dr. Eggman.

GE7 catches her arm and flings her away; Cream lands hard on the ground, scraping her arm. GE7 repairs his body instantly with his eyes glowing Emerald green.

"I warned you…GE7 is able to heal himself instantly. Damaging him severely won't do any true damage to him. I suggest you surrender and allow us our leave…"

Cream staggered, "Hell no…You're not going anywhere!"

Tails, Saffron and Charmy can only look on and give her support as they continue to heal the wounded. Tails looks out to the horizon, _what Sonic would do in this predicament…he'd…he'd…_ a thunderous boom rips through the air with smoke filling the air.

Cream and GE7 stand there with their hands locked, GE7 has his gun aimed at her head, but Cream has her gun aimed at his head just as well. _If Cream fires that bullet at this close of a range, there's no chance GE7 can recover! His head is his weakness…_ Dr. Eggman panics.

"Please Cream, enough! No need for you to injure yourself like this!" reasoned Dr. Eggman.

"Shut Up!" shouted Cream.

Two guns shots fire, one pierces GE7, sending the mech flying backwards with his head exploding. Cream also falls back to the ground, with blood flying in the air and dropping her guns. Tails screams in horror, sprinting to her; Dr. Eggman moves over to GE7 to check on his mech.

Cream lies there, fading out of consciousness, "T-Tails…?"

"Cream…"-cried Tails, holding her tight-"Why! Why are you doing this..?"

"Because…Sonic will…handle the rest…I can…feel him getting closer."Passing out from the blood loss, but cracking a little smile before closing her eyes.

Tails carried her over to Charmy, who got straight to work on her. GE7 rises yet again, completely healed of his injuries. Hope seems lost with everyone helpless and wounded both physically and emotionally.

Suddenly, a blue blur passes them all, swiping the colorless Chaos Emeralds. The others gasp in amazement at his timely arrival, the confidence he boasted, the unmatchable speed, he finally arrived; Sonic enters the battle!


	14. GE7 arc: Dark Sonic's debut

Covered in bandages, Sonic stands up firmly. He looks over at his wounded comrades, noticing Cream's wound to head. His expression turns to a vicious one as he stares at the unconscious Amy and Knuckles beside Cream.

"What happened to everyone…" muttered Sonic in a shaken tone, closing his eyes and beginning to clench his fist in fury.

"GE7, the mech over there…he is the one responsible for all of this…" answered Saffron, softly resting her hand on Cream's bandaged head; Sonic's anger grows as he finds Roque lying on the floor, blood oozing out his chest from the attack earlier.

Sonic walks over to Roque's body, searching for a pulse; His pulse is barely there. Sonic picks him and carries him over to Charmy and the others. Resting him next to Cream; Charmy and the others look confused by his actions.

Tails crawled over, "Sonic what are you…?"

"Charmy, please take of him too." Stated Sonic plainly, returning his attention to GE7 and Dr. Eggman, who were silent since his arrival.

Charmy showed some reluctance, but Saffron came forward, "Why should we help him Sonic? He's the reason Knuckles and Espio have these severe injuries!"

"Life is way too precious to lose over something as worthless as violence, especially when it was all in vain. Roque shouldn't die just because of what happened earlier." Not taking his eyes away from GE7.

Sonic's anger grows the more he visualizes the injuries and the pain that his friends suffered while he'd been rehabilitating. A bunch of veins sprout from his fist, a sharp dark blue aura emerged from him-surrounding him completely, his eyes lost the green irises and pupils-turning completely white, his Royal blue fur turned a Jet black with his quills rising similar to Super Sonic. A massive amount of air pressure Surrounds Sonic, GE7 and Dr. Eggman; Dr. Eggman and GE7 stand still, sensing the raw power of Sonic's transformation.

"So it's happening…even when the Chaos Emeralds have lost their power, you still find a way…you damn hedgehog!" Cursed Dr. Eggman in disgust; GE7's eyes shine with satisfaction, a truly worthy opponent stood before him-one that he was made to battle.

Sonic powers up, the aura grows larger and larger. GE7 also powers itself up, emitting a green aura from its body; the chaos energy from both of them lit up the area, bringing stormy weather over.

Rain begins to fall, Sonic sprints at the speed of light and delivers a powerful punch to the gut of GE7, sending him into the pile of rubble that was the building from earlier.

"S-So fast…! I've never seen Sonic so fast!" awed Tails in amazement.

"I couldn't even see what happened…did Sonic just land a hit?" gasped Saffron; Charmy was focusing on treating Roque's injuries.

 _What the hell? Sonic's never been able to move at that speed…unless it is Super Sonic… Has he reached a level rivaling that of the Super Sonic? No, that'd be insane!_ Dr. Eggman is completely flabbergasted; searching for a logical solution as to how in the world could Sonic-in his injuries-transcend to a level that rivals Super Sonic.

GE7 emerges from the rubble, brushing off the dust. Sonic waits, holding his fist forward.

"Ah? So you're not all looks…let's see if you can keep up!" charged Sonic, curling into a ball for a spin dash.

GE7 summons a barrier, protecting himself from the hard impact of Sonic's attack. Sonic runs behind him, performing a homing attack at light speed. Roque's armor begins to lose color as the Blue Blur pounds him down with constant homing attacks. Sonic leaps forward, extending his leg out for a kick, and connects with GE7's head; it's a critical hit. Nuts and bolts begin to pour from GE7, who kneels to the ground trying to recover. The merciless aura from Sonic still remains; his glare turns to Dr. Eggman, who'd been trying to understand the madness of Sonic's sudden power.

"Well Dr. Eggman, you've certainly crossed the line." Said Sonic, preparing to attack the bald and round man; Dr. Eggman kept quiet, still focusing on what might have caused Sonic's transformation.

Sonic's instincts detect a sudden hostile intent before he can strike Dr. Eggman, turning around; GE7 stands before him, unscathed by the attacks from earlier. GE7 approaches him; the green aura grows stronger with each step taken. Sonic's attention returned to GE7, holding his fist-ready to brawl. GE7 releases small chaos blasts, forcing Sonic to dodge them all. Sonic runs around GE7, attempting to spin dash into him, but GE7 catches him-throwing him into the ground with absolute force. Sonic's body slams on ground, his body bounces up as he screams in pain; GE7 catches him again, blasting him at point-blank range with a full powered chaos blast.

"Sonic!" screamed Tails, being held back by Saffron.

A massive cloud of smoke engulfs the trio; GE7 emerges with Sonic. Sonic's no longer in his Dark form; instead, he's back to base form-not moving either. GE7 tossed him in front of Tails and the others.

"Sonic are you alright?" asked Tails, helping up his best friend.

"I'm…fine…" holding his face, blood was trickling down his face as a result from the powerful blast he took.

"Here Sonic, take this…" said Saffron, handing him the potion that was intended for Amy.

"Huh..?What's it for?" he asked, examining the bottle with the orange liquid.

"It's a healing potion; it will replenish your health. But please know; only one was made, so you must defeat him here and now!" Explained Saffron; Sonic drinks the potion, recovering all of his health. He leaps forward, prepared for an all out battle with GE7.

"It's a good thing that I got a glimpse of your strength while I was only at 60 percent! I hope you'll keep up that intensity…" remarked Sonic, stretching.

"What? You were only at 60 percent just now? What kind of god-like strength was that!?" Shouted Dr. Eggman in absolute denial of Sonic's answer; Sonic places his finger under his nose, rubbing it.

"Of course, wasn't it amazing Egghead?" mocked Sonic; Dr. Eggman had a set of cruciform veins popping from the back of his head.

"Well…"-shifting his feet to fighting stance-"I'm coming at you…" said Sonic; GE7 nodded, it looked like both of them showed some respect towards one another.

"It seems like Sonic's rage is gone…" said Saffron, realizing the dark form from earlier was tied to his emotions.

"Yes, he's gone back to normal…" said Tails, smiling with confidence.

"A carefree spirit who loves adventure…" added Charmy, wrapping up his aid on Roque; Sonic's beaming with joy, knowing he's in for a good fight. No longer is the rage consuming him like before. _If I want to defeat this thing, I'll need to be smart in my actions…my emotions would ruin my chance!_ Sonic stretches his arms and legs, prepared for anything that's about to happen.


	15. GE7 arc: A sour ending

Sonic and GE7 rush toward each other at high speeds, head butting on collision and releasing an immense amount of pressure. GE7 stretches out his arm to grab Sonic, but Sonic dodges, performing a homing attack on GE7's exposed midsection. GE7 slides back, absorbing the powerful hit and emitting some green electricity; Sonic takes a couple deep breaths, suffering recoil from the hit.

"Well Sonic, it seems you now realize just how GE7 works! He's an ever evolving beauty of machinery built for this exact moment. You can't beat him, Super Sonic or not!" laughed Dr. Eggman.

GE7 activates their rocket boots, speeding towards Sonic. Sonic jumps back, avoiding the heavy punch that GE7 threw. GE7 takes the driver seat, throwing a flurry of attacks at Sonic ranging from rockets, bullets, punches and even kicks. Sonic avoided everything, but the biggest risk was that the battleground was collapsing before them.

Dr. Eggman takes a remote control from the back of his pocket, slowly waiting for the right moment to press it. Sonic and GE7 continue their fierce battle, exchanging punches and kicks-mostly Sonic on the receiving end. Sonic kneels on the ground with sweat dripping all over, his breathing becoming heavier and heavier, his arms wobbling, electricity from GE7 shocking him, knowing if he fights any longer at this rate, everything will be lost.

Dr. Eggman presses the green button with extra force; GE7 puts both of his hands together, creating a gigantic green ball of light with an explosive in the middle-counting down from 10 minutes until its automatic detonation; Sonic shields one eye in response to the bright light, unable to force himself to move.

Dr. Eggman laughs, "To believe I can dispose of you here! Better hurry Sonic, that thing will detonate in ten minutes! It can cover up to 1000 miles, meaning it will wipe out the entire Pacific isles-devastating Adabat the most! I must you though, if you attempt to destroy the wires, it will detonate on the spot and wipe everything within the vicinity clean!"

Sonic struggles to his feet, "That's…very low…Dr. Eggman…" collapsing on the floor from exhaustion, it's a miracle that none of his wounds opened up.

"Such a shame…I expected to see your fighting evolve in the two years of my absence. I guess it was too much to expect you to make any changes like your fellow comrades. But, it looks like Eggmanland will finally become a reality!" said Dr. Eggman, leaving with GE7.

Tails runs over to Sonic, helping him up. "Sonic…leave the bomb to me. You've done all you could…" he said, handing him over to Saffron.

"Saffron, take everyone to the ship and prepare for take off! I'll try to lower the range of detonation from 1000 to 100 miles…so be on standby!" Ordered Tails, heading in the direction of the ball of light as Saffron and Charmy take everyone else to the ship.

Everyone reaches the ship safely, but Tails suffers minor bruises as he fights through the powerful green light that saps away his energy, forcing him to move slower and slower as he reaches the center. The amazing strength of light pushes him back as he begins to re-wire the bomb, changing the color wires around. _I can't destroy these wires! I'll have to move these around like this…_

Time runs out as 5 minutes remain until detonation, Saffron and Charmy stare out through the windshield-looking up in worry. Saffron powers the ship on, raising the giant ship out of the water.

Tails sneaks a look at the distance meter to see how much had been cut off; the meter read 100 Miles. Tails' eyes bulge as he crawls his way out the green ball of light, flying to the ship; the ship takes off as the ground begins to crumble.

Tails takes control of the ship, shifting it into overdrive to get out of the bomb's range. They escape the wrath of the bomb with a giant cinematic of a green explosion behind them, a tsunami follows them as Tails steers the ship upward, avoiding the tsunami.

He sets the ship to autopilot, heading to the room where Roque was rehabilitating. Tails entered the room alone, locking the door behind him, and taking a seat across from the bed where Roque was sleeping-bloodlust in his eyes.

An hour passes by, Roque slowly sits up-holding his chest. He takes a look around the room, opening his eyes little by little, spotting Tails directly across from him with a terrifying glare. Tails' glare sharpens more as he gets up and approaches Roque.

"Roque…it seems that you have been stabbed in the back by Dr. Eggman…" said Tails, slowly pulling his blaster out. He shows just a glimpse, of the gun to Roque, letting him know that wrong question will mean the end.

"What do want…?" wince Roque in pain; Tails slams his fist against the wall.

"I want details on Dr. Eggman's plan of Eggmanland. I want to know everything about the 12 saints…tell me everything valuable!" said Tails grabbing Roque by the neck.

Roque grabs Tails hand, forcing the grip off, "I may be injured…but I'll be damned if I get bullied by a pipsqueak such as yourself…"

Tails stepped back, knowing he didn't have the resolve to kill him. Roque stretches out his worn down body. Tails still glared at Roque, grasping his blaster, ready to fire.

"Relax, I have no intention of assaulting someone who helped my life, I'm not ungrateful…" said Roque, getting up.

"I truly desire information on Eggmanland…" responded Tails, lowering his guard.

"Unfortunately, he never told me anything regarding his plot for this Eggmanland. All he ever told me was of the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds...I can't really tell you much regarding the 12 saints since that would be considered treason against the United Federation…" Said Roque, displaying regret; Tails looked disappointed, seeing as all their efforts were in vain.

A week passed by before anyone else woke up from their injuries; in that time, Roque left in the middle of nowhere. The result wasn't very good, The Chaos Emeralds were retained-yes, but the Master Emerald was still in Dr. Eggman's possession. Not to mention that everyone was recovering from their injuries. There's also the addition of GE7, the newest and most powerful creation by Dr. Eggman. The entire campaign left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, Dr. Eggman actually won for once.


	16. Gordana arc: A call from home

Back at Sonic's mansion, Sonic, Tails, Amy and Cream were relaxing in the living room watching TV. Knuckles and the Chaotix decided to continue their pursuit of Dr. Eggman, advising Sonic and company to get some well deserved rest. During the week, the gang tried to take their mind off their defeat by purchasing many goods. Sonic bought even more furniture and decorations and even bought Amy a brand new Pink super-bike. He also bought Cream her own custom made MG since she liked guns-even hand painting it for her. Tails received new tools for crafting and quickly built new creations like a set of personal butlers and maids. Sonic had fully recovered from his injuries, but his thoughts were still on who Spade was, concentrating on piecing the information he had. Tails and Cream were sitting together on a big sofa, sharing a blanket since the A/C was on very cold. Amy was sitting next to Sonic, but they both kept a distance of each other for obvious reasons.

Amy's phone rings on the kitchen counter, she checks to see who it is, but there's no caller ID. Amy answers the phone, going out to the backyard. Silence is on the other line as she paces the ground-waiting.

"Hello? Is this Amy Rose?" said a childlike voice on the other line.

"Yes…this is Amy Rose, who are you?" responded Amy defensively.

"Amy, it's me. Lily…" said the girl; Amy's speechless.

"I'm sorry to call you out of the blue…but you need to return home." Said Lily urgently; Amy stops pacing the ground.

"What's wrong? Why all of a sudden?" asked Amy, making a stern face.

"It has to deal with the family…they've abducted father…and Uncle Rob's…dead."

Amy drops to her knees, "No…I'll be there right away!"

Amy got up, sprinted into the mansion and ran up the stairs, attracting the other's attention. Sonic, Tails and Cream follow her up the stairs, curious to know why the hurry. They all peek from behind the open door, seeing the Pink hedgehog with long flowing quills stuff a bunch her clothes into her suitcase in her bright pink room

Amy looks back to see creepy stares her friends were giving her, "Um…can I help you?"

Sonic entered the room, "Well you see, you just stormed up here and we wanted to know why you are packing your suitcase…"

Amy sweats bullets, "I've got family issues to take care of, so I won't be returning for a little bit."

Cream marches in, "I'm going! We're a team Amy…please?" giving her puppy eyes.

Amy nodded, "But you idiots can't come!"-Pointing to the boys-"I don't want three kids to have to take care of!"

Sonic and Tails' jaws dropped at her harsh comment. But they understood if a girl wanted her space. "Where are you even heading to?" they asked in sync, both raising an eyebrow.

"My hometown is in the same region as Spagonia, its a few miles west from the outskirts. A nation filled with controversy, we've been that way for years…" Sighed Amy, "the small the country of Gordana isn't a place you tell people you want to visit. Crime is very high there, along with many other factors like political corruption and illegal dealings and poverty…"-Amy finishes packing her bags-"Cream, go and back your bags, we leave immediately."

Cream dashes out the room, "Amy, why can't we come along?" asked Sonic.

"I can't afford to have to keep my eye on all of you; I'm going there for personal matters…"

Sonic takes a seat next to her bed as Tails enters the room, "we'll come as support. We won't get in the way of whatever you're doing." Convinced Sonic calmly; Amy still showed reluctance, crossing her arms, thinking of the factors that might play out.

"Fine…" she muttered, closing her eyes in frustration; Sonic and Tails jumped in the air, heel-clicking.

They left later that day for the airport, going on U.F. airlines. The flight was around 10 hours, Sonic spent the flight sleeping, Amy read some romance and mystery novels, Cream watched shooting compilations, and Tails watched funny videos on Utube.

They arrived at Spagonia airport, renting an SUV to drive up to Gordana since the nation didn't have an airport. Amy drove the car with Sonic besides her, looking out the window as Cream and Tails had a conversation in the back.

Sonic turns to Amy, "Hey Ames, do you know where we'll be staying?"

"Yes, you'll be staying at my sister's estate…" she said indifferently, keeping her eyes focused on the road.

"You have a sister!?" they all said in sync, jaws dropped.

Sweat drops fall down Amy's head as they bother her to give a description. Amy tries her best to avoid mentioning much about her sister, but, Sonic and the others keep pressuring her to tell.

Amy sighs in frustration, "Her name is Lily, and she's my little sister-only by two years though…"

"Give us more please…"asked Sonic delightfully with a bright smile.

"No!" barked Amy; seems like she doesn't have a very strong relationship with her sister.

They arrived at Gordana a couple hours later. Gordana looked quite rundown and abandoned. The buildings were all chipped in paint, cars were all out of date with many rusted out, most people-human and animal- were in the buildings-hiding, select people were out on the streets, but all looked very poor, and the entire mood of Gordana was shockingly eerie with rarely any traffic and no signs of life, no restaurants, banks, movie theaters, nothing at all.

Cream tugs on Amy's shirt, "Amy, why does this place look so sad?"

Amy doesn't answer, focusing on the road ahead. Sonic looks at Cream through the passenger mirror-signaling her to not ask that question again. They enter a slightly better looking area of Gordana-passing by nice r looking houses, stopping in front of a huge estate surrounded by a silver gate with the initials reading "W.R" on the front with a security guard post right in front.

A security guard armed with a machine gun approached them, "May I ask your business here, ma'am?"

"I'm here to meet Lily Rose…"said Amy, not showing her face to the guard.

"I'm sorry but Master Rose doesn't accept random guests. She is very busy, and cannot simply accept a random guest…"

Amy showed her face, taking a long look at the guard, "Do you recognize who I am?"

The security guard began to sweat, realizing who he'd been mouthing off, "My apologies Master Amy, I'll gladly let you in…"

The guard opens the gate to let them in, as they drive down the manor, they pass by a huge garden decorated with berries and other fruits with flowers aligned along smoothly paved road; A fountain was nearby with a statue of a hedgehog with angel wings holding a vase pouring water.

They arrived at the manor, seeing 4 cars parked in the driveway-all highly luxurious. Amy rang the doorbell, as the others got out the car. A butler greeted them in, his name was Richard. Upon entering, the posh interior was covered in White and Gold, with everything that a person could imagine finding.

A Peachy pink hedgehog appears from the staircase, dressed in a fancy short black dress and white top, also wearing heels. She looks very similar to Amy, only shorter with the same hairstyle that Amy had before she grew out her quills-only Wavier.

"Dearest Amy, you've finally returned…" greeted Lily giving Amy a hug; Amy doesn't show any embrace.

"What happened to dad…" asked Amy hurriedly, but, Lily wouldn't have anything with that, leaning over to Amy.

"We'll discuss family matters later…" whispered Lily.

Lily walked over to Sonic and the others and became acquainted, showing immediate interest in Sonic, once she recognized who he was. She invited them over to the dining table as the butlers grabbed their bags and carried them to their rooms. They sat at a long table, drinking tea and waiting for dinner to be served. Lily wanted to learn more about her guests that'd be staying with her, especially since she wasn't expecting them.

Dinner was served, Lasagna on one plate with Steak and Mashed Potatoes on another. Everyone enjoyed their dinner except for Amy and Lily, who were exchanging looks with each other the whole time; they ha d way too much to catch up on.

That evening, everyone went to their rooms. Cream and Amy would be staying together while Sonic and Tails would have their room too. Amy waited until Cream fell asleep to sneak out the room and meet her sister out by the pool at night.

Lily relaxed in a pool chair, with shades on and listening to her playlist on her smart phone with the headphones plugged in. Amy approaches her, dressed in her night gown. The moon is high above them, reflecting in Lily's shades as her song changes, the pool running behind them with sweet sound of water trickling.

"Lily…" said Amy, grabbing her shoulder.

"Yes, sister dearest." Lily responded with a little sarcasm, taking off her shades and resting them on one side of the table.

"Tell me what's going on." Amy demanded; Lily exhales, rolling her eyes and groaning.

"Look, our father was captured by the Mamba family."-Changing to a more serious tone- "Uncle Rob went after them to retrieve father, but got killed in the process. We recovered his Bow and some arrows, but we don't know what to do…"

"What about cousin Rocco and the others? Aren't they also informed of what happened?" Amy asked, lowering her voice, realizing the situation might be bigger than expected.

"Yes, they were informed. But they are currently busy handling other turf wars right now and cannot return swiftly enough, it is a primary reason why I had to contact you…you're the heir to the family."

"No I'm not..!" Barked Amy, closing her eyes and looking away from her sister; Lily also looks away, knowing the reason for Amy's resent of her family.

"Is it because of what happened to mom?" said Lily bluntly, looking her in the eye.

"I have no reason to answer that…" dodged Amy; Lily sat up.

"I loved her too, but she's gone. It's time to move on Amy, that was the past…"

"Shut up! You don't know anything about mom!" yelled Amy; Lily stares at her, shaking her head slowly.

"You can use a Bow and Arrow now, right? I heard from some international scouts that you've raised your stock…" said Lily, attempting to shift the conversation.

"Yeah, I learned it a little while ago. I'm a class A archer now, but I still prefer my hammer."

"Do you think you could handle Rob's Bow? I know it's too soon, but nobody in our family is capable of wielding that, nobody but you."

Amy hesitates on her answer, staring off at the pool; she nods her head "yes" accepting the difficult task. They sat silent for a few minutes before Lily got up and went to bed, leaving Amy alone to look at the crystal blue pool. Sonic gazes at her from the window, worrying of what might be going through her head.


	17. Gordana arc: The Nation of Gordana

The next morning, Sonic and friends were treated to a wonderful breakfast. Many different foods were served from traditional pancakes to eggs and bacon with hash browns. They all were having breakfast outside by the poolside, enjoying the morning sun. Sonic's conscience weighs heavily as he observed to two siblings yesterday, wondering what might have been said.

"Lily, I would like to know…where we are…like what exactly is the nation of Gordana." Said Sonic, cutting right to the chase; Lily doesn't even look in his direction.

"The nation of Gordana…is one filled with poverty, famine, crime and corruption. Gordana is run by Dr. Garcon, the current prime minister. Unfortunately, our parliament is made up of secret members of a gang called the Mamba family; they're the ones really pulling the strings behind closed doors. Since their reign, crime has grown exponentially as well has human, animal, and drug trafficking. The country is split into two classes: the very wealthy and the very poor; as imagined, you all are on the very wealthy side of Gordana, where it may not seem so bad. But I'm sure you've passed by the very poor side of Gordana, so I won't comment any further on that subject…"-she sips her tea, slowly looking in Sonic's direction-"judging from that look in your eyes, I'd say you want to change the current situation, huh?"

Sonic doesn't answer, knowing that he-along with tails, promised not to get involved in anything regarding this country. Amy glares at Sonic-then Lily, emitting an even more hostile aura than before. Tails and Cream ate their food as the awkwardness grew.

"What about this Mamba family? Isn't there anyone to stop them…?" asked Cream, realizing she could get the information on Sonic's behalf; Amy's glare at Lily sharpens, expecting her to keep her mouth shut on the subject.

"Well…for now, there isn't anything that can be done. The Mamba family have control over the entire country, this is the one property they can't touch since we have enough power to take them down." Responded Lily, unable to resist the temptation of adding more allies to her side since her main forces were busy.

"So why not take them down already?" asked Tails, raising his voice a tad bit; Lily ignores him, sipping her tea yet again.

"Anyways, I'll be giving you all a tour of the Rose manor…"getting up and making her preparations with Richard to guide them.

She gave them a tour around the entire manor, showing them the massive garden in the front and the huge pool around the back. The bathrooms looked elegant with the rooms each having the same set color way of Peach and White. There was an indoor dojo for training with many sparring dummies, a shooting range, and massive lab for building, along with the gaming room and many more.

"As for our family, the Rose family, we are a family of aristocracy and nobility with a rich history that has impact on the entire nation of Gordana…as well as some influences in the United Federation." Said Lily in a posh tone, guiding them to the dining room; Sonic becomes alert as he heard the United Federation.

"Do you know any members of the 12 saints..?" asked Sonic hurriedly.

Lily squints her eyes in suspicion, "Yes…Why?"

"I'm looking to talk to the 12th member about a certain topic…"

Amy pulled Sonic to the side, "Sonic, I would prefer if you do not discuss anything regarding what has happened with her…"

Sonic shook his head with understanding, "Sure…"

Lily giggles as Amy picked up on what she might have been thinking, "Don't worry Amy, I won't steal your boyfriend…"

Amy's face turned red, "NO…! He's not my boyfriend…he's just a personal friend…"-turning away from everyone; Lily grabs hold of the situation and resumes.

"I will be busy for the rest of the day and week discussing some family matters with Amy; therefore you are all free to do whatever you like for the rest of the day…and week for that matter. But please, I ask that you all keep away from the poverty-stricken side of Gordana as it is a very dangerous place. For safety measures, Richard will be your personal guide during your stay here…"-handing them into Richard's care as she takes Amy by the hand and leads her away.

"I'll be caring for you all for the time being…" said Richard, bowing his head diligently.

For the next two days, the trio spent their time exploring the many options available for them at the estate. Tails spent those two days checking out the lab before beginning his crafting on new items, he's always got a new idea ready to be put to work. Cream spent her two days practicing at the shooting range and training in the dojo with Sonic. Today, Sonic and Cream decided to go out and venture Gordana and see the country more. Tails chose to stay back and build some weapons, planning to one-up Dr. Eggman.

Sonic and Cream sat in a fancy limo driven by Richard, the limo had a fancy beige leather interior with a mini fridge accessible. They passed by the fancy side of Gordana, viewing the nice buildings and homes with lovely gardens and architecture.

"So is this where the Mamba family is?" said Sonic as they passed by a large estate that was gated with the initials M.F.

"Yes…" responded Richard, taking a glance at the enemy's domain.

"Richard, could you tell us what is really going on? It doesn't seem like Amy and Lily will fill us in…" asked Sonic; Richard gulps.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you…" said Richard firmly.

"Why not..?" said Cream with puppy eyes, forcing him to give in.

"The reason for the secrecy is because the Rose family and Mamba family are on the brink of war…the reason is because the Mambas took our leader, Simon Rose, hostage. We were planning to retrieve him…but our other members of the family are all on other missions against other crime syndicates around the continent. Because of this, the young master has requested the assistance of the future heir to the family, young Amy Rose." Said Richard, exiting the wealthy part of Gordana; they were entering into the real part of Gordana, the slums.

"Amy's an heiress..? Crime syndicates… are you all supposed to be the mob?" asked Cream with complete skepticism.

"Please do not misunderstand! We are indeed the mob, but we don't perform any crimes; we are more like an organization of vigilantes that disguise as the mob to deepen our network of connections. We are indeed a proud family with a boastful past…"

Sonic looked uninterested, shifting his focus to the unpleasant image of poverty. Broken homes and businesses, malnourished people groveling on the floor-pleading with God for mercy, and even citizens robbing from one another; this all was on display in broad daylight, leaving behind an uncomfortable feeling in his heart.

Sonic clenches his fist, "We have to help these people…" he said, interrupting Richard, whom was explaining the history of the Roses.

"Unfortunately sir Sonic, it has remained this way for a very long time because of the Mamba family. More than likely, it shall stay that way until they lose office…"

"What's so big about this Mamba family!?" said Sonic, slamming his fist on the car door.

Richard stays indifferent, "the Mamba family is led by a Redd Harrison Mamba, known as the Red Mamba for the amount of people he has killed to get to the top. He is a very powerful man with very powerful contacts. The rest of the family is stacked with snake mercenaries who've mastered their job to perfection. But the real difference is the man who sits as the trump card for them, the 11th seat of the 12 saints…Lycoris Mamba, the Plant user.

Sonic's ears twitch as he heard the 12 saints, "Lycoris? He's a grass user?" asked Sonic, calming down as he enters a subject of his interest.

"Yes, he is the Plant user of the legendary twelve. He has the ability to summon any vegetation and cover a vast area, sharpening his plants in the process to create lethal weapons. He is truly a major threat." Said Richard, feeling the need to continue on and share all of his knowledge. "But the real issues with the Mamba family are their trafficking…they traffic drugs across the continent, which counts as a third of their revenue. The main operation where they get most of their success is in the trafficking of humans and animals; they hold an annual bidding every year here at their home…"

Cream keeps silent as the sensitive subject is brought up, while Sonic becomes more interested in wanting to end the reign of the Mambas. Richard returns back to the wealthy side, stopping at a park to have a breath of fresh air. Sonic decides to stretch out and relax, falling asleep rather quickly. Cream ventures off, going near the woods.


	18. Gordana arc: A New Problem Brewing

Cream hears the sound of an old man begging for mercy in the nearby woods. She reaches for her guns, but her pockets are empty. _Damn, I forgot I left them back at the manor…_ she thought, sprinting in the direct of the cry. As she entered, she saw a pack of snake men dressed in all black, beating up on an old man.

"Hey! Stop that!" she screamed; the snakes halted their assault, turning their attention to her.

The leader of the pack slithered forward; he wore a black fedora with a knife sticking out the hat. "You're quite the cute one eh? Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong…"

He snaps his fingers, motioning all his men to aim their machine guns at her; Cream got in a fighting stance, ready to kick some ass. A couple of snakes ran forward without the leader's command, and they surely suffered the price. Cream grabbed the first one by the arm, twisting it so hard that it popped out the socket-grabbing the gun at the same time. She shot the next one, diving behind the trees as they all fired shots at her; Sonic and Richard heard the loud gunshots and immediately made a break for the woods, realizing Cream wasn't with them.

Back in the woods, Cream was quickly picking off every one of their men like a plant, blasting a round in everyone and landing fatal blows to the grunts as some heads exploded from the powerful impact. She did a quick forward roll and shot the men guarding the old man, but she didn't keep her vision on the enemy and only focused on retrieving the old man. The leader shot her in the leg as she ran for the old man. Cream writhes in agony as the bullet secured domain in her leg, seeing the blood oozing out quickly grabbing both of them by the hair and hurrying off into a fancy SUV as he heard someone coming. The rest of the men left-leaving the dead bodies behind.

Sonic and Richard arrive a moment later, seeing all the fresh dead bodies scattered across the ground. Sonic looks away in disgust at the wounds they all suffered. Richard walks over to one that appears to still be alive, only he is near death.

"Quite the wound you got there…mind telling us how you got it? You tell us, we'll save your life…" negotiated Richard.

"Cmon, it's heartless to play with a man's life. We should bring him back to the manor and get him treated." Said Sonic, handing over the man to Richard; the man was breathing lightly as he looked at the sun with wide eyes.

"Where are you going?" asked Richard.

"I'm going to go look for Cream. Please notify everyone there that Cream has gone missing." Said Sonic; Richard nodded, placing the man in the passenger seat and reclining the chair for him and driving off afterwards; Sonic continued his search.

Sonic looked around, finding tire tracks close by the woods on the other side of the park. _No doubt...she was kidnapped._

Back at the Manor, Amy and Lily were in a fancy room, discussing the current status of Gordana. Amy was intense as she was up and out of her seat yelling, while Lily remained calm and stayed in her seat.

"Amy, it is a simple process. All that we need to do is send your friends in as a decoy until the others arrive. Why won't you simply agree with the plan?"

"Why…? Because you're throwing my friends into harm's way! I refuse to risk their lives for the sake of this terrible country!"

A vein popped from Lily, "Don't talk about this country as if you're not of any relation to it, you ungrateful rat!" yelled Lily in anger, getting up out her seat and in Amy's face.

Both of them had an intense stare-down when Richard called Lily's phone, filling her in on what was currently happening. Lily hangs up the phone afterwards, taking a deep breath, having Amy sit down.

"Cream's gone missing…that's what Richard's saying…" she said, looking at her phone.

"What…? No way…" responded Amy, clutching the sofa. "Cream wouldn't…she …she's got an iron mindset with keen awareness! She couldn't simply have gone missing!"

"Well, she's missing. Richard said he recovered one the accomplices…but apparently he must need some heavy treatment. So he must have taken some serious damage from something…"

 _Cream…what did you get yourself into!?_ Amy thought, shaking her leg rapidly and biting the 2nd knuckle of her index finger with great concern for Cream's whereabouts.

"We have to find her…" she said hurriedly.

"Wait…we can learn what happened from the dude that Richard is bringing. Just relax…" said Lily, crossing her arms.

"I can't…"-Amy has her aha moment-"I'll ask Tails!" sprinting out the room.

"Don't run in the hallway!" yelled Lily, shaking her fist.

Tails was in the lab, building different creations just off the spurt of the moment. Amy enters the room, seeing the dozen of creations that the yellow fox pulled off. She approaches Tails, who's currently building high tech gauntlets.

"Tails I need your help!" shouted Amy, jogging over to him.

"What's wrong?" he responded, wiping the sweat off his face and adjusting his glasses.

"Cream's gone missing…"

"…"

"Tails..?"

"Well, that unfortunate to hear. So, exactly why have you come to me?" he said in a plain tone; Amy's a little unsettled by Tails nonchalant reaction towards the news.

"What's up with you? Aren't you a little bothered by her going missing?" she said, wrinkling her mouth and lowering her eyebrows.

"Nothing, I just don't feel like I should worry about Cream. I think that where ever she is right now, she'll be ok."

"Tails, she's only 8. No matter how much training she's undergone, she's still just a child! You're 10! You of all people should be worried the most about her!"

Tails' eyes sharpen, "How about showing more faith in her instead of worrying so much…"

An awkward silence befalls the room as the only sound heard is the sound of Tails, shuffling his tools around, and the sound of metal clacking with the table as he balances the two gauntlets.

"Tails, do you think you have a GPS that could track her?" ask Amy, looking to put that conversation behind.

"No, but I could one. If you have anything that contains any of her DNA, bring it here. I can take that and build a GPS that will read her DNA and find her location."

Cool, I think she should have some hair on her brush…I'll bring that!" she said, Rushing out the room.

Meanwhile in an unknown location in a dimly lit room lies Cream on the floor, handcuffed. Cream wakes up to see herself in a square room, all dull and very gray with nothing in the room at all. She sees a metal door with a small rectangular opening with a small bit of orange light emitting from it. She crawls over on her knees, hearing the sounds of men and women screaming in agony and begging for mercy, pleading to be released.

 _Are they being tortured?_ She thought _where am I? Where's the old man from earlier?_


	19. Gordana arc: Good Cream Hunting Act 1

_I need to get these handcuffs off! They're really irritating!_ Cream struggles to remove them, hearing the clacking metal of the cuffs against the long chain that held them together-feeling the pain escalate as she continued to test how wide she could spread her arms to test the length of her handcuff's chains; She was handcuffed behind her back, so she couldn't get a good idea of how to remove them since she could barely see them behind her back. She looked around the room, "I need to get out of here…I heard someone being tortured earlier; so wherever I am, it definitely isn't somewhere I want to be."

She looks down her shirt and at her arms, seeing none of her weapons in possession, "I guess they stripped me of everything important…So much for trying to get these handcuffs off with what I have." She studies her surroundings, noticing the smoothness of the room. _It's as if the people who kidnapped me were expecting me to make an escape…taking away my weapons, putting me in this smooth room with absolutely no escape…I've got to find some way out of here!_

All she could do was look around, studying her environment. She knocked on the floor and walls, noticing that they both were very solid and kept the noise inside. "Okay, so I can make as much noise as possible in here…but how about this door?"-turning her back to the door and backing into it, knocking on the door lightly-"It seems this is a pretty hollow door…if I knock any louder I'll surely make a loud noise and attract someone's attention. I should try to avoid that, for now at least."

She helped herself up by leaning against the wall, and then an idea came after thinking for a few seconds. _Since these walls are solid, that means they must be strong enough to break the chain on these handcuffs if I can apply enough force! After I break the chains, I can bang on these doors loudly until someone comes, and then…_ A star twinkled in her eyes as she got up and widened her arms and pulled forward until she could see it, protruding her posterior to the point where it made contact with the chain. "Well, at worst I might sprain my wrists or bruise my butt…"

She runs backwards at full speed and slams her body against the wall, feeling the chain cut against her bottom; she immediately lets out a sharp cry before holding it in, _Holy crap that hurts! I hate skirts!_ She recovers quickly walking forward again, and then slamming into the wall once more, and then doing so once more again; she hears the chain crack a little of the third attempt. _Okay! We're getting somewhere now…I just need some more strength to pop these chains and then we're good!_ Holding back some tears from the pain her butt and lower back were getting. She does so one last time, successfully popping the chains off and only having the cuffs on. "Great!"-she whispered, looking at her hands-"I'll just need to attract some attention and see what's going on. She crouches down to look through the opening in the door, and saw a stone wall directly across; she maneuvers her body around to get a better look and finds a flame torch on the wall, looking to the far right and noticing stairs nearby. _Am I possibly in a dungeon!? What!?_ She hears footsteps coming down the stairs, seeing the boots of only one person. _I'll back away from here until he passes and then bang on the door as soon as he's about a couple steps away…_ the guy walks past the door-whistling; Cream bangs on the door, alarming the man to which he retracts his steps to stand in front of her door.

He kicks the door with force and yells, "Shut the hell up!"

Cream bangs on the door once again as he walks away, and he returns. He unlocks the door to find the room empty, "What…wasn't there somebody in here!"

Cream kept her eyes on his shadow that had appeared from the flame torch outside. He enters, suspicious that she's behind the door. He pulls the door, only to get a violent punch from Cream, who jumps from behind the door. The guy is shocked to see she was able to break the chains off her handcuffs, and engages in a scuffle; Cream dodges the slow attempt-of-a punch, and then super kicks him in the jaw-sending him backwards to fall. She spots his ring of keys and then kicks him in the groin, which causes him to sit forward holding that region in deep pain; she breaks his neck right afterwards-killing him.

"I apologize for having to commit such a petty murder…but it is what it is." She said, grabbing the keys and testing out which ones may be the real key to unlock her cuffs; she counts a total of eight different keys, all eight are completely different in appearance. "How about this one?" finally opening the handcuffs and being free; she stretches, feeling the tension in her back and arms finally be released. She looks at the ring of keys, "what are these other keys for?"

She peeps from her door to see the spiral stairs right next to her, looking back to see a row of other cells in a long hallway with a door at the end of the hallway. "So I'm not alone…"

Back at the Rose manor, everyone was sitting at a table trying to brainstorm an idea on who kidnapped Cream. Lily sits in a big chair that faces everyone at the table, and with her was Richard; she whispered into his ear about something. She takes her attention over to Sonic and Amy, "So sir Sonic, you say that she was attacked?"

Sonic nods his head, "Yeah…I heard some shots fired, but when I got there I only saw some dead bodies and one severely injured-none were cream."

"Did you identify the bodies?" Lily pryed.

"I never paid much attention to the dead ones, but maybe we could check out the guy we recovered."

"This is the Mamba family's doing…" Amy stated bluntly with head lowered.

"How did you come to that conclusion dear sister?"

"Isn't it surprising that the person that goes missing happens to be a female bunny? You know very well what I'm talking about."

Lily kept a cold stare at Amy, "The auction."

Amy nods, "I bet she's over there; they're looking to bid her off."

"You're sharp. I was thinking the same but I wanted to at least confirm it with the idiot."

"No point in wasting time when it's so obvious." Amy's emotional voice cracked.

Lily summoned Richard and whispered in his ear yet again, "Do so promptly!"

Richard exits the room; Tails entered with a portable GPS. He rests it on the table for the others to behold. Sonic picks it up and examines the device, "So this is what you were making?"

"Mmm hmm, I programmed it to track down Cream using her DNA; it should be able to track down her location within a hundred mile radius." Tails explained with pride.

"Okay, we have a device to find her and we have some intel. What's the plan, Lily?" Amy kept her eyes on Lily.

Lily looked at the GPS, "Well, I want to see what our patient has to say first before we make a move. Knowing the Mamba's, they will soon figure out she's connected to you and use her as ransom."

"What other moves are you planning?" Amy asked, suspicious.

"None of your concern at the moment; for now we wait for the idiot to wake up."

Cream crept over to the door, opening it to find a turtle and a human boy in handcuffs sitting against the wall. She enters the dark and smelly room; she notices upon closer look that both of them aren't that much older than she is. _These are very poor conditions to be in…they must have been here way longer than me._ She helps them up and out of the cell and rests them on the wall in the hallway and begins to fan them.


	20. Gordana arc: Good Cream Hunting Act 2

The boy wakes up, sweating and feeling groggy; his turtle comrade lied next to him, still asleep. He looks around and realizes he's out in the hallway and not in the cell; his handcuffs are also off. He feels the hot stone floor with back of his hand, and then he runs his fingers along the rough textured stone walls-opposite of the cell walls. He covers part of his face with his hand, "How did I…?"

"I rescued you…"-Cream said while tending to the other two prisoners, not looking in his direction-"I escaped my cell and noticed that the keys could unlock other cells…so I rescued you and the other prisoners from your cells since the heat was unbearable in there." Cream said with relief upon seeing him wake up. The boy looked over to his left and saw the others that were also freed from their cells-sleeping. Cream felt both of the sleeping prisoner's foreheads, checking if anyone might have a fever. She walks over to him to talk since he was the only person to wake up so far out of the four.

"How did you escape from the cell?" He pointed a finger at her cell once he saw it was the cell with a foot sticking out the entrance.

"It's none of your concern…" She responded, walking over to him.

The boy was fascinated by her, he'd never met an anthropomorphic creature before-nor did he ever think he would. Cream sat across from him, folding her legs and crossing her arms, with a serious expression.

"Do you have any clue where we are?" she asked lifting her right eyebrow and narrowing her eyes, curious to what his response might be.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I'm clueless to where we are…I only remember being captured. It was some snake people that ambushed me while I was delivering some rations to the needy over at a shelter."

"Snake people…"-her eyes dilated as she realized immediately where they might be-"We're in Mamba territory…we're going to be auctioned…" she whispered to herself, though the boy could hear her loud and clear.

"Auctioned…?"

Sweat-drops fell down her face, "We need to escape from here immediately!"

"Why…?"

"I may not know where we are, but I know the reason why we're here; we've been kidnapped by the Mamba family to be used as items for their major auction."

"The Mamba family…? Aren't they a ruthless gang of snakes?"

"Yeah, they do illegal auctions." A voice from the other prisoners spoke; an aardvark stood up and walked over to the entrance of the young boy's cell, where Cream and the young boy were sitting; the Aardvark had crimson red fur, mellow yellow eyes, a shining bald hairstyle, a hunched back and wore torn up brown corduroy pants.

Cream smiled with relief, "I'm glad to see you're up and about."

"It's all thanks to you…"-he bowed his head-"I'm in your debt to you for your kindness."

"So, we're in here because we're getting auctioned off?" the boy asked with worry.

The Aardvark nodded, "Judging from the cast in this room, I'd say that was the intention."

"Look around you, a human boy. A cute young bunny rabbit and another one that's mature lying over there, a turtle sleeping right here, and myself; we're each very sought-after in the underground business."

The boy became frightened, "How…how do you know…?"

"I've been fighting against these guys for most of my life. A turtle will be used for wisdom, rabbits for desire and pleasure, a human for possible business or labor, and for me…probably as a scavenger." He answered bluntly without care.

Cream and the boy shuddered at what might happen to them if they didn't escape; The other bunny rabbit got up and approached Cream, crouching down next her and gazing at her closely.

"My…your eyes are beautiful!" the rabbit said with her hands on her knees trying to get a close look at Cream, their faces nearly touching; Cream's flustered by the sudden compliment and invasion of space, relaxing a little once she stepped back from her.

"T-thank you!" she responded uneasily.

The rabbit had pale yellow fur, vibrant emerald green eyes with purple around the surrounding area, and long blonde hair that extended to her lower back that she had tied in a ponytail; she was wearing a purple t-shirt with very short black tights. Cream studied the rabbit as she took a seat next to them, observing how one of her ears were flopped over while the other stood tall, and how she didn't wear white gloves like her friends.

"I must thank you for getting me out that cell…"-she held her hand out-"My name is Bunnie."

Cream and the others introduced themselves and they all sat around getting acquainted, "So Arnold the Aardvark, Benny, and Bunnie…It's nice to meet you all, albeit we're in this place."

Bunnie nodded her head, "So this place heah is the Mamba estate of the Mamba family…"-she turns around and looks at the door at the end of the hall-"Makes sense since that down the hall is the torture room…Ah would say we're at the deepest basement level here."

"Estate?" the duo of Cream and Benny said jointly.

"Yeah, the home of the Mamba's…you can pass right by it and not know that all of this is on the inside or underground." Arnold added on.

The boy leaned forward facing Bunnie, "How did you end up here?"

Bunnie looked at the floor with a demoralized expression, "Ah was kidnapped from my home island…"

"How about where are you from?" Cream asked, looking to start with an easier question.

"Ah am from West Island of the Acorn archipelago, from a small village called Royal Hills…" she responded in a low tone.

"Isn't that entire place under the control of the Mobian Kingdom now?" Arnold asked; she nodded her head.

"Yeah, ah was a member of the Freedom Fighters; we were rebelling against them, trying to earn freedom…but one day ah was away from my members for a moment and in the blink of an eye ah found myself being attacked by some of the snakes."

"You don't have to go into it if don't want to…" Cream assured her, respecting her if she didn't want to continue; Bunnie didn't want to remember what happened.

"It's fine…"-shaking her head-"the least ah can do is share with you a little about myself…"-she mumbled something under her breath-"I came heah a few days later and found myself in a cell with a smart alligator. The alligator told me everything about this place and that to not lash back at the staff since it would lead being sent to that torture room over there."

"I don't recall rescuing an alligator…"

"That's because…he was sent there earlier."

Cream realized right then, _was that was the cry I heard earlier!?_

"This world aint kind…" she said, looking at the floor with emotionless eyes.

"So more than likely we'll get sniffed out if we're just hanging around here…we need to break out." Arnold said, demanding a plan.

The four sat in a circle, unsure of what to do. The turtle woke up for a moment, but he soon fell back asleep. Cream felt a little satisfaction, knowing she executed all of this off of practically nothing, so she was sure she could come up with something if she had the opportunity. _More than likely, the 11_ _th_ _saint is here too, so I should be careful with this escape since there is a possibility of running into him._

Back at the Rose manor, Sonic and Amy are alone sitting at a table, waiting on the others. Sonic taps the table with his hands as he tried to keep some noise in the quiet room; Amy's lost in thought, juggling a number of issues.

"Isn't it funny? Your sister said your family is an aristocracy with strong ties to the U.F. yet I heard that your family is a mafia just like the Mamba's…"

Amy laughed to herself, "Don't trust my sister on anything she says regarding our family…we're the mafia; simple as that."

"So you have no connections to the U.F.? you're not aristocrats?"

Amy's hesitant on her answer, "Well, that idea is only because we're very wealthy with a ton of power. In this country, we can be regarded as a noble family since we do everything we can to help those that suffer in this country…but what do I know, I haven't been here in years and my dad has been taken by the enemies."

Sonic doesn't reply; Tails entered the room with Lily and Richard, holding the GPS in his hand. He signaled for Sonic and Amy to come over, "I found her location…"

"She's at the Mamba estate…" Lily confirmed.

Amy's tense, "We must head there now then."

"Hold on Mistress Rose…"-Richard interjected-"I apologize for being so rude to interrupt, but we cannot just hastily rush into this situation"

She impatiently taps the floor with her foot, "well…?"

"I began to think…"-Amy interrupts to drop a slick remark-"what if the odds are that the Mamba's took your friend to the same place that they might also have father held…just what if?"

"What about it?" Amy said with an attitude.

"We can kill two birds with one stone!"-She responded throwing her hands up in the air-"But if we're going to rescue both of them, we'll need more firepower."

"And…? Didn't you call for backup?"

"Indeed…our family should be arriving very soon once I told them about the possibility."

Amy laughed to herself with frustration, "So now they aren't busy? I thought they were busy with turf wars?"

"No…yes…well, they were taking care of other priorities crucial to our family like turf wars, but now that we have a possible lead on father's whereabouts…they're all in. before, we had no clue where he could be since they switch around at every place."

"Whatever." Amy rolled her eyes, annoyed with the inconsistency of her sister.

Back at the Estate in a large unknown room, a man with pink fur, round glasses, and a grey beard-dressed in a black suit was tied to a chair in the middle of the room with a group of men pointing their guns at him. A Greenish-Purple silhouette of a snake slithers from the entrance, "Ssseems like today is the ssspecial day!"

"Lycoris…"

"Don't worry Mr. Rose; I'm just here to let you know that Boss Redd and Dr. Garcon will be coming here shortly to have a word with you."

Lycoris slithers back out of the room, shutting the door behind him loudly as the guards block the door and resume their watch on the old man. He can only look at the floor with a cold sweat, knowing his time was soon up.


	21. Gordana arc: A Silent Car Ride To Battle

"Can you carry on Uncle Rob's will, Amy?"

That question intrigued Amy as she buried herself in the seat as she-along with Sonic and the others-drive en-route to the Mamba estate, ready for the battle; it's a bumpy car ride for the five of them. Amy stares at her fingers as she rubs the leather-made quiver in her hands. _Why did Uncle want me to have his legendary bows…? Aren't these extremely picky with their user?-_ She recalled the texture of the weapon when she had first received it from Lily- _It's quite the magnificent piece of craftsmanship…ok!_ _If I remember anything from Uncle Rob's constant practices, he used his ability of channeling fire to create his arrows…so maybe I need to find an alternative that can work to the same effect. Either way, I can use this as an opportunity to test my abilities of summoning other weapons other than my Hammer_ -she narrows her eyes, pinching the brown leather- _creating efficient arrows won't be the issue_ , _it'll be having to mass produce the arrows. but maybe if I can somehow transfer my thought of an element into my ability to channel weapons…then just maybe I'll have a weapon that is strong enough-_ she glances at Sonic, who was sleeping in his seat- _Ever since you ditched us…no even before that. You never gave me a good chance to prove myself to you; to show you that I was a capable fighter worth having your back through tough times…-_ she clenches her fist with resolve and anger _-I'll make you see we're equals! Keep your eyes open on the battlefield, because I'm going to steal the show!_

Amy was always focused on becoming a reliable friend, furthering her skills through continuous training with Sonic back when they all were a team. But for Amy, it felt like although she was a proven fighter, Sonic wouldn't recognize her as an equal; this feeling only strengthened when Sonic decided to break the team apart and go separate ways. Amy used that frustration as fuel for her motivation to become even better than before, taking up the bow and arrow as her primary weapon and steering away from her Piko Piko Hammer. Amy remembered that question that Cream asked her back during one of their missions in South Maruca.

It's a damp and miserable day in the jungles of South Maruca; Cream and Amy were resting in the trees as they tailed a target for their mission. Throughout that day, the girls had experienced near death situations on multiple occasions while fighting off local bandits and syndicate members; Amy was wrapping up Cream's arm after she had gotten injured from a bullet grazing her left arm.

Cream winced in pain as Amy patched her up, "Amy…? Why do you do this?"

Amy halts her action, "Do what? Aid you with this injury? I have. If I let you expose your arm with that wound then you'll be at risk for an infection…"

Cream held up her free hand closed her eyes and she shook her head, "No, I don't mean that."

Amy's eyes turned dull, "Then what do you mean…?"

Cream knew she was about to regret what she said next-looking up at the patches of sunlight that beamed through the grey clouds and trees, "Why do you continue to work so hard for his sake? Why do you get into this amount of trouble to make yourself stronger for Sonic's sake…?"

Amy could only take a deep breath and then exhale, "I chose this path because I love him. I decided to take the journey to furthering my strength and trying something new for the sake of _my_ improvement…not _his_."

"Why!? Why must you continue to do this…Look at how he's treated us, deserting us in order for him to chase after Dr. Eggman on his own; He's being selfish."

Amy calmly patted the frustrated Cream, "I know it must be painful for you the most…"-Cream's lips quiver as she sniffs, beginning to grind her teeth in an attempt to hold the tears back-"he's like a big brother to you."

In a muffled tone, "I know he didn't want us to get hurt…but we can fight too! We've been with him every step of the way!"

Amy smiled, "Don't worry, one day we'll reach a level of strength that even he can't ignore! We'll become so strong that even the strongest beings on the planet will have to answer to us!"

Cream laughed, cheering up after having the empty feeling of being useless and abandoned. Amy helped her up and the two got back to their mission, completing it swiftly. Amy returned from her momentary flashback, feeling calmer than before after remembering that she had another person to share the same frustration with-knowing that it made no sense in getting so worked up and clouding her mind with unnecessary thoughts.

Sonic was lost in his dream, floating through a black void with a large swirl of color encircling him, containing his vivid recollections from the previous experiences with Roque and GE7 accompanying him through the darkness; it was all too much for him to take in at once. _Spade…the 12 Saints…GE7…Dark Sonic…first, for some reason this Spade wants to see me…but who is Spade? Is he an enemy…? Or is he a possible comrade…? And the 11_ _th_ _seat…_ -outside of his dream, his eyebrow twitches and he frowns- _He's here. The 11_ _th_ _seat of the 12 Saints is right here…if I want more information on Spade, I'll need to find the 11_ _th_ _seat known as Lycoris! Though if I had such a struggle against Roque the first time around, could I even stand in a fight against Lycoris?_

As his body continued floating through the space, he began feeling immense pressure as continued into the darkness, feeling his body begin to fall away from his control and into somebody else's; the colorful swirl of memories vaporized as he approached a sudden light. Soon Sonic finds himself at a huge bright and purely white throne with a huge black figure sitting before him on the throne in a lazy position with its hand resting on its face.

"Ah…so we finally meet; Sonic the Hedgehog." The faceless black figure said in deep tone, taking the shape of Sonic's body.

"Who are you?"

The faceless Black figure grinned, "I am you…well, your chaos energy at least."

Sonic folded his arms, "My chaos energy…?"

He adjusted his voice to mimic Sonic's voice-only deeper, "I'm all of the energy that you've accumulated from your exposure to the chaos emeralds; the physical manifestation of your chaos energy."

"What the heck? But, shouldn't you be Gold instead?"

"You're thinking of the Super Sonic; he's the super transformation of purity and completely flawless. I'm the Dark Sonic-everything corrupt and flawed about you."

Sonic marveled, "So you're everything that's wrong with me…"

"Smart one, huh? Yes, I represent everything impure and flawed about you."

"Well if you represent everything wrong with me, then exactly what makes you so special? You're just an imperfect version of Super Sonic."

Dark Sonic smirked at Sonic's bashful comment, "Hey, you're not wrong; In the Super Sonic's case, he is indeed perfection personified…but what if I told you that there are some qualities that _I_ possess over him?"

Sonic tilted his head and pushed up his eyebrow-staring hard at the cynical dark figure, "You think so?" he said, looking around at the surrounding darkness-seeing the only piece of light being the bright white throne.

He leaned forward, "Do you want to know how?"

Sonic looked at his gloves with a sudden loss of interest, "Not really, you seem pretty dark to me."

The Dark Sonic broke into a tiny fit-rattling in his chair, "what are you some pun master? That was absolutely terrible!"

"Anyway, go on with what you were saying."

The Dark Sonic nodded, "Unlike the Super Sonic, I can access even further into your reserve abilities via through your rawest and deepest forms of emotion. Whatever extremely negative emotions you're feeling at the time-like rage, I'll be able to then access any hidden or reserves. In a way, I boost your physical abilities while leaving your emotional side completely open and free for attack."

"Pretty foolish for you to just tell me like this…aren't you worries I'll try my best to stay emotionally stable?"

The Dark Sonic laughed, "As if! You'll end up wanting my power even more once you experience the hell that awaits you in the near future with all your battles."

Sonic became hostile in the Dark Sonic's presence, "What good would you know? I'm strong willed enough."

"You consciously may reject me, but unconsciously-like now, you're body is yearning for a taste of my power. Face it-you can't defeat any of the big names unless you rely on some incredible power like mine or the Super Sonic's."

Sonic closed his eyes shut with both fists clenched, "S-shut up! Get out of my head!"

Sonic awakes to bullets of sweat falling down onto his muzzle, putting a hand to his chest to make sure his heart was beating irregularly. He felt that sinking feeling in his stomach, anxiousness churning and dancing in his body. He exhales deeply to calm himself, looking out the window-spacing out.

"We have twenty more minutes before we arrive at the estate gate…" Richard noted as Lily kept watch for a message from her other relatives that were on their way.

Lily's mind was busy on the thought of her deceased uncle Rob who had failed to rescue her father earlier from the Mamba's. _Uncle Rob was an excellent archer and master of the arts. He somehow figured out a way to channel power through his bow and create his own type of arrows: the fire arrow.-_ she glanced back at Amy, seeing her older sister lost in thought- _I still remember what he told me before he left._

A week before Robin Rose took his suicidal mission to rescue his brother; he stopped by the mansion to give Lily a message. Lily was sitting at the dining hall table having meal an exquisite meal that featured steak with black beans and white rice. The door slammed open as she saw her uncle barge through-limping; he came to the table and slammed his fist on the floor, breathing heavily.

Lily noticed he was covered in scratches and bruises, "Uncle, what happened?" she asked with concern in her tone as she rested her fork and knife; he limped over to her.

"I know where your father is…" he struggled; Lily got up and pressed her hands on the table, leaning forward.

"Where is he!? We can send the others to go and rescue him!"

Rob held his hand up and stopped her, "I'll bring him back…leave him to me."

Lily couldn't argue with him since he was by far the strongest in the family, but his condition didn't look promising enough to go in and face the entire mamba force on his own. Lily took a look at him, "Do you at least want some back up? I can't feel so confident in you just going there alone."

Rob guffawed, "If you can't trust me for something like this, then exactly why are you even here?"

"Excuse me?"

"Not meant to be an insult, but I'm a proven man. Trust me when I say I'll bring your father back."-He lowered his head and stared at the table-"But, I may not make it back in one piece…"

Lily's red flags went off as soon as she heard, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not getting any younger, and this might very well be my last big hurrah. In the case that anything should happen, I want you to recover my weapons and give them to your big sister Amy…"

Lily looked at him with confusion, "Why big sister Amy?"

"A couple months ago, I learned from a friend that she'd taken up archery…she's pretty good. There isn't another person in the family that can use the bow…so more than likely she can carry the torch."

 _Uncle Rob…I hope you're right. I'll do everything I can to finish the mission that you started…_ -her eyes sharpened with a glint cutting through her irises- _I swear I'll make the Mamba's pay!_


	22. Gordana arc: Begin the rescue mission!

In a big cozy conference room were a group of five snakes gathered around a polished wooden table drinking some coffee with guards encircling the room; they were the highest authorities in the Mamba family. First, Redd mamba stood at the head of the table; he was a humanoid snake who looked middle aged, but also having the figure of a well-built human body and the extra features of a snake such as his yellow eyes, the red scales that covered the sides of his neck and part of his face, and he wore a fancy white suit and white fedora hat; he had a pressuring intimidation in his glare, his body stood erect and stiff, and he had a cane in his left hand that he used as support. Next to him on the left sat Lycoris in his humanoid form; Lycoris had a quite the young appearance, having messy green hair with purple highlights on a couple strands on the left and front. His eyes were sly and his smile was arrogant, his body language denoted high authority-which he had as the second in command both in physical power and leadership of the family; he wore a white renaissance style cloak that had purple and green as the secondary and tertiary colors, dark green pants, and brown boots. To the right of Redd sat Ailio, the strongest hitman in the family. Ailio wore a black fedora with a red ribbon, a matching black suit with a red tie and white dress shoes; he had the face of a killer with heavy bloodlust. Sera and Penny were two twins that were the youngest of the five, appearing to be around the same age as Cream. Sera had Orange hair while her sister had blue, and both were covered in their respective colored scales, and had tails instead of feet; they wore matching sweatshirts and also appeared to be the friendliest of them all from the innocent smiles that never disappeared.

Redd placed his right hand on the table as he slowly sat down into his big comfy rolling chair, "What are your thoughts about what we should do with Mr. Rose?"

"I honestly believe we should just kill this man and take complete control of this place." Ailio said bluntly.

"We're strong enough to handle the rest of the Roses that are left, and since we already killed their strongest member, they're weak." Penny added in support of Ailio's idea.

Redd shook his head, "We can't kill him, since he has very high connections to the U.F. If we killed him, we'd probably anger them enough to go war with us; with our numbers we wouldn't stand a chance against an army like that. Luckily however, we will one day fight against them…"- he looks over at Lycoris-"Right now, the plan is to negotiate with Rose on the transfer of all his power and resources to us, and we'll spare him and his family because the last thing needed is for any more of our soldiers to die."

Lycoris smirked, "You're being very merciful…"-he summons small vines from the ground-"I could handle the entire Rose family for you, boss; just like I handled the archer."

"Don't worry Lycoris, your day to shine will come against the U.F. Once you've gained high enough trust from them, you'll destroy them from the inside. Just be patient my boy."

Redd dismissed them a moment later, and all five of them exited the room with their own set of guards-splitting up to go their own ways. Meanwhile with Cream and the others, they snuck all the way up the stairs and arrived at the entrance to the dungeon where two guards stood across from with their backs to them. The guards were dressed like fancy men with machine guns in their presence, and one had a key in his hand that he was showing to the other guard.

"I snuck in there and got this from the room where they're holding Mr. Rose!" the guard with the key said enthusiastically.

"How did you do that!?" the other replied, worried that they might get in trouble if he got caught.

The guard with the key grinned, "When the others weren't looking, I swiped it up and hightailed out of there. The guards will leave the room to change shifts soon, so when they leave, we'll sneak in and interrogate him ourselves!"

"You just want to go in there and beat up the poor guy!"

"Duh! When is the next time we'll have the opportunity to have power like this?"

Cream peeked from the corner of the wall, _so Amy's dad is here!? Judging from what one of those punks said, they have the keys. We'll have to figure out a way to get those keys and then find Amy's dad; maybe he'll know a way out of here._

"Hey Simon, notice how Frank's taking so long to come back up?" the guard with the keys said with a wink.

"I'm not catching what you mean Dave."

Dave face palmed, "I'm talking about the items! Did you forget we got two rabbits in our possession? That nasty bastard is probably having all the fun down there right now!"

Cream and Bunnie's ears shuddered while they had disgusted expressions on their face, "We should go join him, eh?" Dave said, elbowing Simon.

"But we're not supposed to leave our post Dave!"

"Ugh fine…"-he hands Simon the keys-"I'm going down there to get me some before that pig uses em all up! Take care of those keys, they have the room number of it so if you want, you can go and sneak a few licks in before I get back."

Dave confidently walks down the stairs; Cream and the others further retreat. As Dave turns the corner and leaves Simon's line of sight, Cream and Bunnie attack him-covering his mouth and whipping him unconscious with his gun, and then tossing his body down the stone stairs; Cream takes his gun and peeks over the wall again. _Did he hear any of that?_ She thought with nervousness at possibly being caught.

"Why the heck does Dave always do this? He knows I'm not the guy for this!" Simon complained while he stared at the keys, oblivious to the ruckus.

Cream knocked on the wall with the gun, grabbing Simon's attention as he snapped out of his stare; he puts the keys at his waist and stares in the direction where the noise came from. He continued to stare in the direction where he heard the knocking, holding up his gun and aiming at the wall after confirming that some sound was coming from there, "That noise…it sounds suspicious." He said, slowly creeping over to the wall; Cream locks and loads her gun, anticipating the possibility of having to kill.

Her eyes sharpen as she counts his footsteps, _Almost there…_ -watching the stone floor for when his boot reached the entrance where they were waiting; Simon placed his left hand on the wall as he peeked over, seeing a gun touch his forehead.

He puts his hands up as his life begins flashing before his eyes-"I-I-I…"-his mouth chattering with fear; Cream's eyes lower to his waist, spotting the keys.

Cream whips him unconscious and takes his keys, "With these keys, I can find Amy's dad." She said to herself, studying the appearance of the key.

"Ah see you got an idea of what to do with them keys." Bunnie said coming up next to her.

Cream nodded, "I have one more person to rescue, please bear with me for having to hold up the escape."

"No problem kid, but why do you need to rescue that guy? He's the don of the Rose mafia, one of the baddest mafias in the world." Arnold said, stepping forward with his arms crossed.

Cream stared at the keys, "I don't know him, but I am best friends with his daughter. I came here with the intention of helping to rescue him; now that I know where he is, this is the chance."-She held up a finger-"But there's also another reason why I need to rescue him."

Bunnie blinked twice, "What is that other reason?"

"Since Mr. Rose has such bad blood with the Mamba's, more than likely he knows the infrastructure of this place; he couldn't be such a top kingpin unless he knew his opponents territory well."

"So you think he could orchestrate our escape?"

"It's most possible..."

"Ah'm in!" Bunnie said enthusiastically; Arnold and the others agreed, nodding their heads.

Cream smiled, "great, now we'll need some weapons to defend ourselves and we should be covered!'

Arnold picks up Simon's gun, "I'll support you on defense, Cream."

"Ah can back you up, too!" Bunnie said holding up two fists with a smirk.

Sonic and the others waited at the large gate, staring at what would be their battleground in a few moments; the guards at the front had already been knocked out from Sonic ambushing them. They were waiting outside for the rest of the allies to arrive, but they were taking much longer than what Lily had estimated. Lily and Amy got into another sibling dispute, arguing over whether to head inside and attack.

"We can't just go in! You guys don't even know anything about the enemy!" Lily yelled with cruciform veins popping from her forehead, irritated with her older sister.

Amy leans against the car with impatience and concession, "Fine!"

Lily regains her composure, "Now before we enter, it is imperative that you know about the mamba family in a little more detail."-she waves for everyone to come close while she has Richard keep watch for them-"The Mamba's are a strong organization filled with many tough grunts that all know how to use some sort of firearm, but at the top of the food chain are their four executives-led by the don. The lowest of the four are the twin sisters, Sera and Penny…"-she turns to Tails-"appearance-wise they appear to be innocent, but they probably the most deceptive of them all-using under the table methods in combat to grab victory, so be careful if you run into them. Ailio is the next one, and he's going to be a tough opponent…"-she turns to Richard-"Ailio is a skilled hitman-an arms specialist and natural born assassin-if you run into him, make sure to leave no weaknesses."

"What about Lycoris…" Sonic darkened.

"He's the second in command. He has the incredible ability of controlling any form of vegetation and it is rumored that he can even create his own vines from out of his body; he is a truly terrifying opponent, befitting of his title as one of the saints…and at the top is the boss himself, Redd Mamba…"-She turns to Amy, locking eyes-"it's unknown of the abilities of Redd Mamba, but one thing for sure is that he is powerful enough to control Lycoris. So should we face him in battle, we'll need to cooperate."

"Working with you sounds like a pain…" Amy snarled.

Richard hands Lily a thin-but very sharp-blade, "Hey, you use swords?" Tails asked, pointing at her beautiful blade.

"Yes, I am a student to art of swordsmanship. It is an art that can be bold and abrasive-yet gracious and elegant depending on the user."-She said while imitating a couple jabs with the sword-"With this blade, I'll strike down Redd Mamba…"

Sonic grinned, "Then I guess we better give those snakes a warm welcome!"

Sonic scales the wall and saw the huge landscape before him, spotting the building where to open the gate was. He drops down and zooms past everyone in a blur, performing the homing attack on a couple of the grunts before entering the small building. Sonic defeats the grunts before they can use their guns, and opens the gate by pulling a lever; the alarm goes off, since Sonic didn't open the gates systematically with a code but instead with the lever-which also set off the alarm to warn everyone that there was an intruder.

"Uh oh…" Sonic said with embarrassment.

Amy, Tails, Lily and Richard rush through the gate with their weapons in hand; Amy had her hammer, Lily had her sword, Richard had his shield and Tails had his Blaster. The four of them blaze through the courtyard, defeating every enemy on sight as more of them flooded out after hearing the alarm go off.

Amy becomes irritated, "Enough!" she yells, taking a hard swing at the floor with her hammer-shattering the floor and stunning her enemies; Tails flew up and shot all of them with his paralysis bullets-which he created to avoid having to kill anyone.

"Talk about an easy entrance!" Sonic joked as the five of them proceeded forward.


	23. Gordana arc: Luck of the draw

"Are you sure we aren't going around in circles? Ah coulda swore we passed this door…" Bunnie said while she-along with the others-tried to keep up with the pacey Cream.

"Every door looks the same!" Arnold yelled while keeping a lookout for any incoming enemies.

"Don't worry guys, I remember hearing something about there being a bunch of guards watching the room he was in, and since that alarm is probably Sonic and the others, we should see those same guards leaving as reinforcements." Cream said making a sharp left turn with gun in-hand and ready to shoot.

Bunnie had a questioned look, "Sonic?"

"Yes, he's a good friend of mine."

"He sounds familiar…"

"He's pretty popular; He's the fastest thing alive."

In the room, Mr. Rose sat in the chair with his hands tied behind the chair and his head down. He opened his eyes, staring at his bare feet. Since the last time we saw him, he now had some bruises after getting roughed up by the guards in there; a small stream of blood poured from his mouth and he had a cut right atop his left eyebrow.

"You young bastards won't get away with this!" he yelled, keeping his head down; the guards in the room laughed. "What's so funny? Shouldn't you lads be on your way, the alarm is ringing. Some intruder is here!"

"Shut up, old man!" one of the guards said, slapping him in the face.

"We've been given strict orders to guard you regardless of what happens, and besides, the executives will handle the intruders."

"Execs huh?" Mr. Rose smirked.

"What's with that smirk? Want me to beat you some more, you old geezer?"

Mr. Rose lifted his head, "Its music to my ears to know that I don't have to worry about those pests anymore!"

Mr. Rose broke free from the handcuffs and immediately KO'd the guard next to him, avoiding the random firings from the other guards. He quickly leg sweeps another guard and then breaks his neck, ducking an attack from behind and elbowing the attacker in the gut-landing a back hand punch. Mr. Rose stood tall at the last guard-who was fumbling his phone calling for backup-"I remember you landing some hard hits on me."

Mr. Rose cracked his knuckles as his eyes sharpened with death looming for the guard; gunshots were heard from the other side. Cream and the others were on the other side combating the other guards in a shootout. Cream headshots the guard in front the doorway, Arnold gets a triple kill, and Bunnie lands some finishing blows on the rest of the guards that were busy try to shoot the others. By the time they took down all the guards, Mr. Rose emerged from the room, dusting off his shoulders.

"Ahh who might you all be…" he said politely, closing his eyes.

Cream bowed, "I'm Cream, your daughter Amy's best friend."

Mr. Rose was shocked, "Amy's best friend? Is she here!?"

Cream shrugged, "I'm not very sure, but I believe so."

Mr. Rose found new determination, "Well now I can't die! I must see her face! You…"-pointing a finger at Cream-"will you lead me to her?"

Cream rubbed the back of her neck, "I kind of came here to rescue you in the hopes that maybe you would know how to get out of here."

Mr. Rose frowned, "Sadly no…But I guess we can find one together on the way while looking for Amy…let's go!"

They all departed in search of an exit out of the massive castle; Meanwhile, Sonic and the others made their way inside after blazing through the first set of defenses. Tails stunned most the guards, Lily slashed away at the rest of the enemy guard's legs-rendering them useless, Richard leads the way with his shield-blocking all attacks from the front. Sonic and Amy were already ahead of them, both of them had branched off to go and take their own routes.

Sonic zips through the halls leaving a blue blur, looking from left to right at each door he passes by-expecting to run into Lycoris eventually; Amy runs through the halls-hammer in hand-ready to attack anyone who crosses her path. As she focuses ahead, she recalls what her sister told right before they split up.

"Go on ahead with Sonic into the castle; we'll try our best to lure the enemies outside long enough for everyone else to arrive. Find the executives or your friend; Father will be fine with all this chaos going on." Lily said, eliminating three opponents with a swift left to right slash across their bellies.

Amy looked disturbed, "What do you mean father will be fine?"

"He's strong, and I know they wouldn't just kill him. More than likely the execs were looking to use the powers he had to their advantages, but now we've that shown up…they'll be coming for us-leaving him unguarded. I believe we'll see him soon." Lily smiled confidently afterwards; Amy nodded and went along with Sonic.

 _If Lily's right, then I should focus on rescuing Cream and taking down the execs; Sonic can handle that eleventh saint, he's become really strong!_ Amy thought as she entered a long curved hallway that led to a large fancy room. As she entered the fancy room, she saw death staring her right in the eyes; two green gems with spear-like glares punctured her shield of bravery, and knew right away on instinct-and from the many vines that danced out of the ground accompanied by his vicious presence-that she'd drawn the wrong card; Lycoris lazily sat on the throne, keeping his eyes on his prey.

Lycoris' tongue wiggled for a millisecond as he got up-keeping his eyes locked on Amy, "You resemble that ssstupid old man…"

Amy was frozen in fear from the sight of the many vines that were pointed at her, one wrong move and she was dead.

Lycoris grinned slyly, "You don't need to be afraid of me, fighting girls isn't exactly my ssstyle."

"T-then why do your eyes say different? I sense nothing but complete blood lust from your eyes…"

Lycoris laughed, "I can sense talent when I see it, and oh my you are oozing it right now. Forgive me if I get a little hungry for blood."

Amy fought off the fear and got in a fighting stance, _I'll defeat him before Sonic ever finds him._

More vines slithered from the ground, dancing like a cobra in a trance; Lycoris gets up from his seat and cracks his knuckles, "now before we begin, I must feel the need to introduce myself before I rip you apart…"-he lowered his eyes and stared at Amy's feet-"I am Lycoris, the eleventh seat of the twelve saints; I am also the second-in-command of the Mamba's. My specialty is that I can control any type of vegetation, such as my reliable vines and grass bombs."

Amy takes a deep breath before snapping her fingers to summon a piko-piko hammer, "Shut up and fight me!"

Lycoris laughed, "You're my type of girl!"

On the other side of the castle, Ailio walked through the hallway with a cigarette in hand-ready for a smoke; the alarm was sounding loudly in the background irritatingly. Ailio holds the lighter up to his cigarette and lights-taking a puff and looking up at the ceiling with his eyes closed. He tries to relax himself but fails to because of the loud alarm; his eyebrows slant, beginning to become annoyed by the alarm.

"Those damn foot soldiers need to do their job and handle those intruders already!"-he said frustratingly taking another smoke-"Can't a mercenary get some peace and quiet for just once? I swear, if I have to get involved with this mess-I'm killing every intruder under the sun!"

Sonic zoomed around each corner at incredible speeds until he saw someone standing in the middle of the hallway that forced him to stop on instinct; he left a cloud of dust in his path as he came to a screeching stop. Ailio stood across from him, and he didn't look pleased to see Sonic; Sonic raised his guard once he caught of glimpse of the snake's glare.

 _This guy feels dangerous…_ Sonic thought as a sweat ran down his face; Ailio continued to analyze Sonic.

 _I don't see any vines or vegetation nearby…so he's probably not Lycoris. But given his vicious glare and immense pressure I'm feeling just from being near him…he's definitely one of the big fish Amy's sister mentioned earlier._

"Excuse me sir, do you happen to know where Lycoris is? I'm in search of him; I have a question to ask him."

Ailio narrowed his eyes, "Depends…I don't mean to be the meddling type but, what kind of question you have for him?"

Sonic narrowed his eyes back, "A personal one that isn't of your concern."

Ailio grinned, "I like that answer! So here's a question…"-his eyes sharpened as a ruby red aura enshrouded him; Sonic's ears twitched, sensing the dangerous foe's intentions-"Are you one of those intruders?"

Sonic smirked, "If you're a smart guy, then I don't need to answer that-do I?"

Both of them had a confident smile, gritting their teeth with fire in their eyes; Ailio took out a pair of pistols that had a fancy design on them. Sonic began stretching, ready for the inescapable outcome. Ailio grinned once again,

"I see I found the right opponent; your eyes tell me you're going to give me some trouble-I see nothing but freedom in your eyes."

Sonic laughed, "And in your eyes I see a monster whose killed many souls in order to reach where he is."

Ailio lowered his head, closed his eyes and smiled, "Indeed…you'll be added to that collection!"

Sonic tilted his head to the side and place his left hand at his hip, "If you can catch me-that is!"


	24. Gordana arc: In the heat of battle

Amy does a back flip-narrowly avoiding the sharp vines from Lycoris; Lycoris grinned with pleasure-hand in pockets-as his sharpened vines continued to attack Amy. Amy snapped her fingers and quickly summoned her hammer, batting away the vines; she took a huge step backwards and crouched, assessing her opponent while also catching her breath.

 _This dude is tougher than what I'd already imagined…-_ Amy thought as sweat dripped down her face and onto the floor- _I've only been fighting him for five minutes, and yet it feels like he's just been toying with me for an hour! There's no way he's trying right now, and worse…those vines really sap away at my energy…_

Amy's eyebrows slanted with anger as she stared at the floor, seeing the many vines that rooted into the floor; Lycoris began laughing, upsetting Amy even more. Amy charges at Lycoris preparing to make a heavy swing at him, but as she approached closer to him, she felt that same heavy pressure in the air like she did before-feeling the beady eyes shine on her as if she'd fallen into a predator's trap. Amy side steps on instinct, seeing a huge vine slap the ground next to her. Amy jumps back once more breathing heavily; _I couldn't even sense that one! It's a lucky thing my body has been trained to a point where it can move on its own…_

Lycoris applauded, "Splendid! I never thought you could dodge even an attack like that…I guess it's about time I start trying to fight you with a little more effort since all I've been doing is watching you avoid my basic attacks."

Amy had a cold sweat run down her face as she tried to play cool, "So there's more in your arsenal?"

"Of course, care to see?"

"You aren't the only one with an arsenal of moves…" Amy glared, analyzing her distance; she observed her surroundings. _We're enclosed in this room…and there isn't any type of weaknesses that he's showing…perhaps this is my chance to test out my arrows? usually the only weakness of grass is…That's it!_

Lycoris' eyes narrowed, "What strategy are trying to run now?"

Amy smiled after having an answer, "Say Lycoris…what do you feel about the thought of Fire…Ice?"

Lycoris' smile dissolved, "So you've finally begun to use your head, huh?"

"Close range attacks don't work on you…since our vines protect you from any close attacks…Time to show you something new."

Amy's hammer transformed into a bow and a quiver filled with arrows appeared in her hand; she wore the quiver and pointed her bow at Lycoris, "Show me what you got, you annoying snake."

Lycoris smiled, "Fine then!"

The sharp vines multiplied, racing towards Amy at a slower but still deadly pace; Amy dodges the horde of vines-but barely. Lycoris grinned as the vines opened up and a blinding green light shined-suddenly releasing laser beams that shot out rapidly; Amy barrel rolled out the way, pushing herself off the ground and doing a back flip as she avoided the rest of the lasers.

"What the heck?" Amy yelled; Lycoris laughed.

"Impressed? I have quite a variety of unique abilities, don't I?"

Amy studied the events that had just transpired, _He has the ability to create a large sum of vines that can attack, those same vines can also release laser-like light beams from said vines…what else does he got up his sleeve._

Amy fired a set of arrows at Lycoris, avoiding his attacks as she waited for the right moment to use her signature arrows. Lycoris kept the pressure on her, approaching her more so that she couldn't distance herself proper enough to fire a lethal arrow. Amy sprints toward a wall, jumping off the wall and firing an Ice arrow at a bunch of the vines that were trailing her-freezing them solid; Lycoris felt slight pain as he forced the vines to wither and die.

Amy could taste the opening, firing another Ice arrow and freezing a bunch of vines; she took out an arrow that emitted in flames and aimed at Lycoris' head while running toward him at full speed. But Lycoris stayed calm, letting the light beams from the vines melt the ice; the fire arrow is released and speeds towards Lycoris' face, ripping through the air. One of the vines quickly catches the arrow and destroys it instantly before it pierced through Lycoris and killed him.

Lycoris' face darkened, "Play time is over!"

Suddenly, the vines that were rooted in the ground sprouted up and encircled around Amy's legs and arms and quickly wrapped around her, pulling her body to the ground. Amy's face slams hard against the floor so hard that she can only keep one eye open; the situation quickly took a turn for the worse.

Lycoris licked his lips with beady eyes, "Quite a treat to see such a yummy lady like you trapped helplessly with no one to rescue you…thanks to my special mega drain."

"Mega drain!?" she yelled, struggling to the floor.

"My vines possess the abilities to drain away your energy each time it comes into contact."

Amy's eyebrows heightened as she realized, _so that's why I felt like I was losing energy earlier…and now he's got me in a vise grip! I won't be able to fight him like this!_ -A sudden weight of pressure overcame Amy as she dropped to her knees, feeling the vines becoming heavier as she sucked away her energy.

Amy's heart dropped as her green eyes turned dull in color; Lycoris approached her with one of his vines sprouting up with a purple liquid dripping from it. Amy could only fear for the worse as she felt her body slowly becoming numb from the forced pressure from the vines that bound her to the floor.

"W-what are you going to do…" she said angrily trying to fight out of the vines to no effort; Lycoris guffawed at her futile attempt.

"This purple liquid is a toxin that will kill you in the most terrifying of ways…once injected, your body will immediately become completely paralyzed for a few minutes, allowing me to inflict the most unbearable of pain on you, and once I'm done, your body will quickly begin to deteriorate as the toxin attacks at your muscles and blood in reaction to the physical pain you'll receive afterwards."

Amy's eyes widened with fear, "T-toxin!?"

"Yes, although it may not be as strong as my senior saint's poison; it is lethal enough for me to kill two birds with one stone…" he winked, playing with the tips of his overhanging hair-"Of course I possess the antidote, but you have to defeat me first and take it by grabbing a strand of my hair and swallowing it. My body produces antibodies that fight against the poison I produce since I'm only a plant user-poison isn't my specialty. Those antibodies are located or are produced in my hair, so if you don't want to die, you'll need to hurry."

Amy continued to struggle as the vine slowly slithered its way to her abdomen; _I can't die here..._ Amy panicked, feeling the vine brush against her leg as it wrapped around her body and worked its way up. A sudden stab from the tip of the poison enters through the side right above the waist; Amy screams unpleasantly as the poison begins to take effect immediately paralyzing her body. She lowers her head to the floor and begins shed a few tears as the vine pierces her body, _it hurts…I can't fight him…_

Sonic and Ailio were locked in a stalemate of a battle, with neither of them being able to land a hit on the other; both were testing the other's ability. Sonic grinned as he stared at Ailio's pistols, "You're the first person I've met who's been able to accurately shoot a bullet in my path and prevent me from using my speed.

Ailio grinned, "You're the first being I've met who could last this long against me. Usually I would have seven bullets in their skull."

"I guess we both surprised each other…"

Sonic loosened his arms and wiggled his legs, "I guess this means we'll be dialing up the level of difficulty from now on?"

Ailio nodded, "Of course…may the better man be victorious."

They both smiled at the other as they each had the same thought in their head: who'll win first, Ailio's bullet or Sonic's speed? Sonic got in a readied stance; Ailio did likewise-holding out his gun and aiming at Sonic's head, and both of their smiles faded. Sonic instantly disappeared in blur, and Ailio cocked his gun tracking Sonic's speed.

"Gotcha!" he yelled, firing a shot towards his frontal left; Sonic tripped up and avoided the lethal bullet-but barely.

"We'll be going nowhere like this…" Sonic said in a playful tone, getting up and dusting himself off; suddenly a loud and painful scream echoes through the hallway, forcing him to change his mood.

Sonic's ears twitched as he instantly recognized who screamed-his face flushed, _that was Amy…no doubt about that!_ -He turned in the direction from where he heard the scream and sped off, abandoning his fight with Ailio. Sonic raced through the hallways as fast as he could without breaking the sound barrier, since doing so would likely destroy all of his surroundings. _I've never heard Amy let out such an unpleasant sound…she's in danger!_ He thought as he zipped through the hallway; following behind him at a distance was Ailio, who refused to let his prey escape.

Lycoris crouched before Amy-grabbing her by her long hair, "it's a shame that you have to be an enemy…I wouldn't mind making you my wife." He whispered to her, observing her body. "Judging from your body, you must a young teenager…yet you're developing into such a tasty treat!"-his eyes dilate with bad intentions in mind.

Sonic barges through the door and immediately calls out for Amy, seeing her far across lying down on the floor covered in Lycoris' vines. The sight was stunning for Sonic to see, _Amy's not moving, someone is near her, and I'm seeing nothing but vines…_ -Sonic's face darkened as a black aura emitted from his body; he clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and glared with piercing green eyes that struck a sense of intimidation into Lycoris' soul.

"You'll pay for this!" Sonic yelled, exchanging glares with Lycoris, running over to Amy's side; Lycoris jumped away feeling the hostility from Sonic.

"I haven't seen you before…who are you?" Lycoris said with curiosity.

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" he yelled, holding Amy in his arms-feeling her neck for a pulse; he calmed a little once he felt a faint pulse detected. _Hang in there…I'll beat him up for you_ -holding her hand and placing his head in her hand.

Lycoris grinned upon seeing the tender moment between Sonic and Amy, "I'm afraid you're too late, Sonic."

"Oh? How so?"

"The reason she is like that is because I had injected my toxins, as it stands, she'll only have ten minutes to live."

"Where's the antidote." Sonic said firmly, ignoring the details; Lycoris was surprised to see how blunt Sonic was.

"W-well you see…"-holding the tips of his hair-"the antidote is in my hair; in order to ensure she'll be safe-you'll need to pluck a couple strands and then feed her them to gulp down. Although I doubt you'll be able to-"

Sonic-like the wind-disappears for a moment, returning a second later with five strands in his hand; Lycoris didn't even finish his sentence! Sonic gave Amy the antidote, helping her step by step until she swallowed each; she began breathing heavily, gingerly opening her eyes to the sight of Sonic before her.

Her eyes relaxed as gazed into his eyes, "Since when were you the kind of guy to hold a woman in your arms…"

"Cut that out! I heard you scream…what happened?"

Amy slowly looked in Lycoris' direction, "He happened…"

Sonic's resolve strengthened, "I'm sorry I couldn't get here earlier, but I'm here now. Stay here and rest up, ok? I'll defeat-"-Amy tugs at Sonic's arm.

"You dare think I'm going to stay on the sidelines?" she said angrily.

"Amy, you've been poisoned…please take some rest; you can't aggravate your body!'

"Shut up!" she yelled forcing herself up.

Lycoris licked his lips, "I like that attitude you got Pinky, now I definitely have a reason to sweep you off your feet."

Ailio arrived, seeing the two hedgehogs before him, ready to fight Lycoris; Lycoris grinned once he saw his trusty ally appear, and both of them had the same idea in their minds: Kill Sonic with a shot from behind. Ailio masked his presence and snuck over to the right side of the room where he could get a good view of Sonic's head.

 _If we kill him here, then that Pink girl will be easy to defeat!_ They both thought, knowing that Amy was too injured to put up a real fight. His thumb flicked a switch on his gun and he cocked it back with no sound being heard-and aimed at Sonic, firing a shot to kill Sonic from behind; Amy's instincts kicked in and she immediately sensed the lethal bullet, batting the bullet away with her hammer. Sonic didn't even notice why Amy did it, but he thanked her. The snakes were marveled by how quick Amy could react to that.

"If you dare think you can pull off a weak stunt like that while I'm around, then you've got another thing coming!" Amy yelled with fire in her eyes.

Ailio was impressed, "You hedgehogs are surprising me by the minute!"

"Huh!? You're here?" Sonic said after finally realizing Ailio had arrived.

"Of course, the direction you went was so obvious…but I didn't expect you to have such a friend of this kind of skill. It's a shame I'll break her in one shot!"

Sonic gritted his teeth, "Not if I have anything to say-"

Amy put her hand up, "I'll fight you."

"Amy!? Why…?"

She turned around only showing one eye to him, "You'll have your hands full with Lycoris, so I'll take care of Ailio for you."

Sonic reluctantly agreed and let her go to face Ailio; the two of them would fight in a different location since it would be getting very intense in a second. Once Amy left the area with Ailio, Sonic's dark aura began to grow larger and larger as his fur turned black; Lycoris was mesmerized by the sight before him.

"Now that I don't have to worry about holding back in front of Amy, I'll spill your blood!" Sonic yelled, running at full speed towards Lycoris-vanishing.


	25. Mamba arc: Sonic vs Lycoris

Sonic disappeared in running motion, shocking Lycoris with his speed. Sonic appears in the blink of an eye before Lycoris and lands a hard punch to Lycoris' face, sending him back a couple feet; the impact was so sudden that the gush of wind from Sonic's punch shattered the windows in the room. Lycoris' feet scraped the floor, but he took the punch well-standing upright without any injury after the impact. Sonic opened and closed his hand afterwards-expecting no less.

"So, you can take a punch." Sonic said sternly while studying the feeling he had when he delivered the punch.

"I didn't think you'd throw a punch like that so soon…but what's more interesting is that speed!"

Sonic looked at him with a scary expression, "Haven't you heard of me? I'm the fastest thing alive!"

Lycoris guffawed for a moment-wiping tears while doing so, " _you...?_ I'll admit, you're fast. But you are not the fastest thing alive."

Sonic's dark aura expanded even larger, "You've got some nerve to say that!"

"But you aren't. I'd say compared to my seniors in the twelve…at best you're maybe three seconds as slower than the tenth saint-he's considered to be the fastest in the world."

"Ah, I was looking for you so I could ask you a few questions…"

"Ask away…"

Sonic peered at Lycoris, who was as calm as the slight breeze that began to blow from the outside; Lycoris stared at Sonic's red shoes and then returned his attention to his eyes- "Lycoris, you're a member of the twelve saints, correct?"

"Yes, I'm the Eleventh member. What of it?"

"My first question, tell me about the twelve saints. What are the twelve saints?"

Lycoris laughed, "First you have the audacity to ask me who I am? Haven't you heard of me?"

Sonic crossed his arms, "Much like how you haven't heard of my speed…"

"I see your point. Very well, then…"-he made a chair of his vines and sat in it- "The twelve saints are the strongest fighters within the United Federation, and in a way, are like the twelve knights who protect the president and the people. We're regarded as saints because we've gained the favor of the gods and were blessed to protect the federation. We are as close as it gets to touching the hands of the gods."

Sonic tilted his head to the side, "gods huh?"

"Yes, we're holy and we're deadly."

"Tell me Lycoris, have you heard of the name Spade?"

"Spade…?"-He crossed his legs as he tried to recall such a name-"I do remember encountering someone named Spade."

"So, you know him!?" Sonic asked with enthusiasm.

"He was a member of that cursed four…he was among the top two strongest of those outlawed kings."

"Strong…"

"Yeah, he was a user of Ice. His had incredible power and reaction, and his intellect…it was terrifying to fight against him."

"Sounds like a nightmare. Someone said that he was looking for me."

"To be honest, if he's looking for you-then your writing is on the wall, you'll die if you fight him…"

Sonic looked concerned for a moment, "Although Sonic, you won't get the opportunity to die by his hands…"

"Huh?"

"Because you'll die by mine…!"-A sharp poison tipped vine scraped sonic on the face from underground- "How did you like that? A blow for a blow…"

Sonic felt the painful scrape, and soon his face began throbbing in reaction to the poison. He didn't waver though, instead of worrying about what effects might take place with the poison-his mind stood firm.

 _I'll need to beat this guy right now…this poison should take effect soon, but if my dark form can sustain long enough for myself to grab a clump of his hair then I'll be set._

"You're probably thinking you just need to use that speed of yours to grab some strands of my hair, right?" Lycoris grinned condescendingly.

"What, think you'll keep up this time?"

"Silly Sonic, that first time was only luck…you won't land another hit on me if you're in that weird black state."

Sonic kept silent, _My dark form?_

"I noticed your fur turned black and that malicious aura sprouted once you saw that Pink hedgehog injured; that form you're in is easily influenced by your emotions, aren't they? And from that punch, I'd say they heavily increase your skills exponentially…but that must take a toll on you, so I'll patiently stall you long enough for your power-up to wear off."

 _Damn…He caught on fast; I can't let this fight be too long, the poison…I can feel it beginning to take effect._

Sonic channeled all the power he had and increased his dark form to its fullest, making his green irises disappear so that the only thing left in his eyes was the white space, his fur turned pitch black and the aura began to thicken; He took a deep breath, and as soon as he reached the climax of air inhaled-he vanished. Sonic appeared a moment later ready to land another powerful punch on Lycoris-this time at full speed-but his fist connected with a ball of Lycoris' vines.

 _W-what…!? I can't break free!?_ Sonic struggled as he felt his hand beginning to crush from the pressure of Lycoris' vise grip; Lycoris had a deadly smile on his face as he applied pressure.

Lycoris suddenly through Sonic against the wall, doing so repeatedly and violently until all the paintings and other objects on the wall fell to the floor and shattered; each time Sonic's back slammed against the wall there was a higher intensity than before, and he could feel more pain increase as he felt his spine fragment from the collision. Lycoris ended the brutal attack by viciously slamming Sonic's right onto the hard floor, forcing Sonic to feel unbearable pain as a sharp hit cut through his body, making him arch his back immediately as his back collided with the floor. Sonic rolled over to the wall, coughing up blood and leaving a trail while he tried to catch wind.

He stared at the floor with agony in his eyes as he got to his knees; Lycoris began to guffaw, "I thought you had more left in the tank!"

Sonic could feel everything begin to pile up, the immediate pain form the attacks and the poison were rapidly draining him down, if he tried to stay in the dark form any longer, he might die. _I can't fight him like this…he's clearly expecting me to fight at full strength like this. He knows that my body will collapse if I try to tough it out and continue fighting like this…I'll have to switch it up. I'll need to…-_ His eyes opened wide as he vomited blood- _I need to take care of those vines…I must find a way to break through that fortress of his before I can engage in close quarters combat. If I use my homing attack, maybe that'll help in holding them off until I plan on how to approach him…-_ his arms wobble as he struggled to his feet with a stream of blood running down his mouth- _I won't last too long…If I can't beat him soon…I'll die…_

Sonic took a calm breath and powered down, returning to his base state; the pain was so strong he could barely keep his eyes open. He held a hand to his mouth as he spewed more blood that passed through his white gloves; Lycoris could smell death knocking at Sonic's door, "You won't last much longer in this condition…I'll give you this once chance to run away now and fight me when you're stronger, as you are right now isn't enough…"

"Shut up!" Sonic yelled, gritting his teeth.

"Your loss…"-Lycoris mumbled, raising a dozen of his vines high to the ceiling-"Die!"

The vines aim at Sonic, and then swarm at him at a ludicrous speed. He only sits there and watches as the vines come closer to him, feeling as though it was all in slow motion as he felt danger approach him closer.

Back outside in front of the castle in the garden, Lily, Tails and Richard continued to defeat the overflowing number of foot soldiers. Lily slashed away at their bodies mercilessly as Richard provided defense for her in her blind spot. Tails stunned another group of enemies, "When is that backup going to arrive? We could use them right about now!"

"They'll be here soon…just hold on long enough until they come!"

The trio rallied through and managed to overpower their enemies, leaving their dead corpses and paralyzed bodies scattered all over the garden. Just when they thought they found victory and were ready to enter the castle to provide support for Sonic and Amy, a new problem came out the castle; the twins applauded slowly and rhythmically as they both had the same dead expression, and following them was another larger army of foot soldiers behind them. The trio's eyes dulled once they saw what they were about to deal with; the twins surveyed the area, seeing their men all over the place, and both clenched their fists-"You have some nerve…killing all of my soldiers!" Sera said with a deadly glare sharpening in her eyes.

Lily felt her body tremble, because never before had she met someone as dangerous as her so close; Richard stood before Lily firmly staring down the enemy, "I'll handle them…"

Lily looked dumbfounded for a moment after seeing Richard display such courage in a situation he knows he can't win, "No, you'll get yourself killed like that…I can fight them too."

"Are you sure…your body language told different."

"You're a butler…"-she looked down at her feet and grinned, regaining her composure-"Worry about how you'll prepare my tea later on. I'm confident in my abilities!"

Richard understood, "As you wish…"

The foot soldiers filed out and charged before the twins could move a muscle, and the trio found themselves having to deal with overflowing numbers; the twins walked back inside, choosing not to participate.

"If they somehow manage to make it past those numbers, we'll be waiting for them in the lobby right here…"-Penny said as they both took a seat in chairs that were towards left side of the room-"And we'll exterminate them before the don even raises a finger."

Lily gracefully slashes another dozen foot soldiers-gradually making her way to the entrance; Richard shielded Tails away from the swarming enemies-knocking everyone out with his shield. Tails continued his efforts with the stun gun, but unfortunately the numbers-gain was beginning to play a role in the possible outcome.

"We can't continue to fight them like this in these numbers!" Tails yelled in frustration closing his eyes; Lily and Richard kept silent, knowing deep down inside that they couldn't keep this up.

Just when it seemed like it could only get worse for the trio, the foot soldiers began to overwhelm them with the sheer numbers. A dozen of the enemies began to pile on Lily and subdue her to where she couldn't breathe from all the bodies stacked on top of her, _we're running out of time!_ Lily thought as her mind began to go blank from loss of oxygen, _we're out of ti-_ she begins to shut her eyes and accept her fate, feeling regret for not going with her sister to fight. She hears an agonizing scream from one of the soldiers and then she slowly begins to feel air come in through the pockets of enemies. She saw an axe in one of the soldier's heads; the axe was big and shiny, with a green leather grip.

 _that's…!_ -Lily was too shocked to even finish her thoughts; she heard more voices coming in from behind her, familiar voices.

"Take out those guys and help our cousin Lily and her friends!" commanded one of the voices; the others responded positively and sprang into action.

When Lily looked up, she saw a myriad of different hedgehogs leaping in the air with their weapons in-hand and a fired-up expression as they dived into the battlefield-dust clouds everywhere. As the dust settles, the three of them look to see these hedgehogs taking down all of the enemies that were troubling them earlier. Lily looks over to one of them who had green fur and wielded the axe that she saw earlier.

Lily beamed, "Cousin Percy!"

"Yo!" Percy greeted holding up two fingers.

Finally, the change in the tide of battle had arrived. Reinforcements had arrived, and in the flashiest of ways. Percy gave her a nod and a thumbs-up, and signaled for Lily to march ahead, knowing from the look in Lily's eyes that she'd wanted to fight the executives for the longest of time. Lily smiled and nodded, sprinting at full speed through the mayhem and arriving at the lobby in the castle; Awaiting her are the twins, who're expecting her.

"So, it seems the long awaiting help has arrived for you…" Penny said with a smirk.

"Such a shame that you'll have to face the both of us!" Sera added.

Lily's expression turned cold, and her smile became sinister. She held out her blade and pointed it at the twins, marking her targets. "You both are about to die…"


	26. Mamba arc: Sonic vs Lycoris Act 2

Amy dodges the bullet and does a barrel roll to the left behind a plant, trying to catch her breath while Ailio reloads his gun. The two chose the hallways to be the setting for their fight, but Amy found herself in an unpleasant situation since her body was still recovering, and Ailio was forcing her to stay mobile with his threatening shooting accuracy. Amy snaps her fingers and summons her bow and arrows, and kneels on one knee-taking aim at Ailio. She pulls back the arrow and measures the distance between them with full concentration in her eyes, and then fires the arrow; the arrow released and fired at a sharp speed-piercing through the air as it made its way to Ailio. Ailio stares down the arrow and loads his gun, then he times the speed of the arrow and dodges the fast projectile, quickly sprinting for Amy with his gun locked-and-loaded.

Amy didn't faze, instead she summoned her hammer and charged at Ailio with full resolve; Ailio could immediately feel the intensity of the fight begin to grow, and he instantly avoided the head-on battle with Amy, deciding to shift to the left and fire a couple rounds at her; Amy shifted her glare to Ailio's direction and batted away the bullets with ease, resting her hammer on her shoulder right afterwards with an intimidating glare.

Cream, Mr. Rose, and the others had arrived at one of the hallways that connected to where Amy and Ailio were, viewing the fight between the two; Cream was itching to aid her best friend, feeling anxious after seeing the close-calls Amy had with Ailio in the encounter. Mr. Rose halts her, explaining that Amy appears to be handling herself given her style of fighting.

"Ailio was it…? Look here, if you're going to fight-bring it on!"-pointing her hammer in his direction- "I've got a father to rescue!"

Ailio laughed, "To think you were poisoned just a few minutes ago…and here you are battling in top form; you're an incredible breed."

Cream clenched the corner of the wall, "That scumbag…don't talk about Amy like that!"

Mr. Rose placed a hand on her shoulder, "I understand how much you must care for my daughter, but please…you must not make any hasty decisions."

"We can't just sit here and do nothing though…we are trying to escape." Arnold said.

"How about we make the escape by setting up a diversion." Bunnie added.

"Yeah…Yeah! Mr. Rose and I could grab his attention and you guys make an escape. Search throughout anywhere for a secret exit; since the whole place is in disarray right now, it's best to avoid the entrance."

Mr. Rose nodded, "I can accept that…but we'll need to time it properly."

They all focused their attention back to the fight before them; Amy puts up her guard and prepares for Ailio's shooting, going into intense focus-studying his gun. Ailio fires a round and goes mobile, moving counter-clockwise after each bullet fired; Amy stood in the same position, batting away each bullet at a faster reaction time each time. Ailio smirked as he recognized the plan Amy was looking to execute, _she's waiting until I get within range for her to either use that hammer directly or to shift to arrows and catch me at point blank range…_ Ailio wall jumps and shoots in mid-air, forcing Amy to roll out the way and evade the bullets; Amy falls into his trap. Ailio lands and sprints over to Amy before she can recover and kicks the hammer out her hand; Amy stumbles and fumbles her bow and arrow after summoning them as a last attempt to defend herself. Ailio stands over her, pointing his gun at her forehead.

"You got a lot of fight…but you are years away, kid. Say your last words…" He said, cocking his gun and ready to fire to end it all.

Amy could only stare at death as she peered into the darkness of the inner barrels of the gun, and the only thought she had in her mind was what would happen to everyone if she died right there, would they miss her? Would they cry? Tears began to appear as her eyes wavered with tears beginning to run.

"I'm sorry Cream…Lily…Dad…Sonic…everyone…!"

She closed her eyes, and then heard a loud gunshot; her body trembled, but she soon realized that she hadn't been hit. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ailio's hand was across the room with blood splattered across the floor, Ailio kneeling on the floor in agony, and to her right, she saw Cream holding a gun, and saw her father-along with other people.

"Cream…!? Dad…!?"

Cream rushed over and crashed into Amy's open arms, Mr. Rose stared down Ailio as he made his way to his daughter, and Bunnie and company made their escape. Amy was stunned by the sudden turn of events, but not as stunned as Ailio, who could only stare at his hand that was no longer connected to his body.

"Well you sure got me good if you were able to blast my hand that far…" he began laughing; Cream quickly pointed her gun at him, but he waved it away-"I know when I've lost…go on, Redd is in the central room; go down this hall and take a left, right, right, left and you should arrive at a big room where he awaits…" he motioned, stopping the bleeding by tearing off his arm sleeve and wrapping it around his wrist.

Amy, Cream, and Mr. Rose heeded him and decided to split from Bunnie and the others; Amy, Cream, and Mr. Rose were set to finally face the big boss himself, Redd Mamba. Back in the main lobby, Lily had her sword ready as she measured her two opponents, and then she swiftly began her attack-disappearing in the blink of an eye; Sera and Penny were shocked by her incredible speed, but their instincts kicked in at the last moment when their bodies sensed an intense bloodlust from behind; Lily was right behind then and in position to brutally stab them right above the waist. Sera and Penny jump back and breathe heavily, realizing just how close they were to getting a mortal wound, Lily's glint sharpened as she peered at them with a scary smile.

"What's wrong, did I frighten you?" she mocked while twirling her blade, keeping her eyes on the two girls.

The twins sweat, "You only surprised us…don't expect the same opportunity to occur!"

Sera leaned over to Penny, "We have the numbers advantage…we'll corner her with a pincer attack and force her to submit to defeat."

Penny nodded, "It's best to heed the boss and not commit any murder…"

Lily noticed the sudden change in the girl's attitude when they focused their look on her, baring their weapons for her to see; Penny had a Morningstar while Sera pulled a book from out her pocket. No longer did she have the edge like just now, Penny and Sera took a hard stomp forward, and had a terrifying smirk on their faces as they held their weapons up; Lily could sense a shift about to occur unless she did something soon, but when she finally pieced her plan together, the twins had already surrounded her and were ready to strike!

"Fazohra Diest Numera!" Sera chanted, shooting wind from her hand and blowing Lily into the air; Penny leaped and took a huge swing with her Morningstar; Lily blocks the attack while upside down in mid-air and uses the momentum to push-off and gain some ground against the duo, knocking down the chandelier while doing so.

Lily looks at her blade before readjusting her grip to a direction where the tip faced away from her instead of towards her. Her confidence returned after seeing the failed attempt by the twins, "Come on!" she yelled in a battle hungry tone, approaching the girls.

She charged at the twins and forced them into close-quarter combat without them getting the chance to retaliate, the girls could only dodge as Lily's ferocious attacks came closer to direct hits. But Lily makes one misstep as Sera quickly kicks the rug and makes Lily slip. Lily's sword flies in the air and lands erect in the floor right behind her; Lily looks back at her weapon, realizing without the sword she's at a huge disadvantage. Sera and Penny use the opportunity to get some cheap shots on Lily, kicking her in the gut repeatedly, and then Sera uses her magic to launch Lily into the air; Penny continues the attack by stabbing Lily with the morning star in the same spot where she'd been kicked. It's a critical hit! Lily coughs up blood immediately and drops to the floor after taking such a blow.

"You bastards really do play dirty…" Lily mumbled with blood dripping from her mouth, looking for the right opportunity to grab her sword and retaliate; the twins close in and leap at her for the finishing attack, but a flying shield sends them flying in the other direction; the shield then circled to its owner, Richard, who arrived at the right moment to save Lily.

"My lady!" Richard called.

"I'm fine…just back me up for a little…" Lily staggered.

"Of course. I should inform you that we are currently winning the battle outside, so our escape route is secured."

Lily makes a break for her sword while Richard shields her, Lily kicks her sword up and catches it, throwing it in the girl's direction; the twins split and avoid Lily's sword, but get shot by some strange bullet from out of nowhere, dropping their weapons on the spot and falling to the floor.

"I-I can't feel my body!" Sera panicked.

"Same here…!" Penny struggled.

"That's because you've been hit with my stun gun!" Tails said, entering from the front doors. "My stun gun numbs your body for about six hours…you guys have no choice but to admit defeat."

Lily fell to her knees in disappointment and shock, "I wasn't…I wasn't able to do anything…I failed…"-blood floods from her mouth as she tries to keep it all from pouring out-"I'm a failure…"-Richard quickly came to her aid, and so did Tails.

"Don't say such a thing Lady Rose…You fought valiantly in the small frame that was given."-He helps her up-"I believe you're suffering internal bleeding, or something is damaged on the inside…"-he hands her a handkerchief-"My lady we must depart soon for a hospital!"

"N-no…I must accept my fate for my poor performance and stay here."

"That's a load of crap!" Tails interrupted, handcuffing the twins to a chair and then approaching Lily- "You were double teamed _and_ took a cheap-shot…your efforts were admirable as they were, but I definitely saw some talent…you just need to trust your strength more and never falter!"

Lily understood the message and swiftly changed her attitude, "If it took a confidence booster from you, then I definitely need to toughen up…thank you, Tails. Surprisingly, you have a way with words. Thank you…"

Tails blushed, "Oh no…you just remind me of a friend who was having the same kind of issue…she wasn't sure what he potential could be because she never tried to improve, she always gave up too early, and she never tried to fight through her issues…"

"Oh? Did… they ever improve…?"-she winces in pain as her gut begins to sharply jab every time she spoke.

"I haven't gotten the chance to ask…"

Back in the room where Sonic and Lycoris were battling, the fight intensified. Vines continue to slither around and follow Sonic as he dashes around the room, assessing a strategy for fighting Lycoris. Sonic suddenly halts, and then homing attacks a pair of vines that lunge in his direction, opening up and ready to shoot out poison. The vines repel and the poison splatters in Lycoris' direction, but luckily for Lycoris he created an iron-strong grass barrier to block the poison; the poison drops to the floor and immediately melts the floor.

"What the heck!? It can melt now!?" Sonic yelled in disbelief; Lycoris snickered.

"My poison can become acidic once I entered combat for a certain period of time; right now we've been fighting for nearly five minutes!"

Sonic cautiously observes his surroundings, "So you can control plants, root them underground and allow them to control at will, shoot out harmful poison…and now that same poison can turn into an acid? Talk about overpowered!"

"There's a reason I've been hailed the saint with the greatest potential in history…I have no limits!"

Sonic glanced over at the fire place to his left, "But fire can burn down plants…"

"Such simple thinking will get you nowhere!"-Holding up a hand, creating a ton of seeds-"time for this fight to blow up!"

He throws out a green seed-which closely reached Sonic; Sonic observed the seed. He noticed that it began to blink red, and then he realized what was before him. He Jumped back just in time to avoid the small detonation. Lycoris began throwing out more of the seed bombs, forcing Sonic to move at his command.

"They detonate at my command! So don't think your attack from earlier will work!"

"Tch…!" Sonic sounded in frustration, running out of options as he felt the advantage favor Lycoris. _As confirmation from the amount of long range attacks this guy has in his arsenal, I'm very sure he must not be a big fan of close combat…every chance I get to pounce, this guy has some defensive strategy to thwart it._ Sonic continues to run, gradually increasing his speed as the explosions seeds come closer- _I didn't want to go any faster than I am now because it'd be too reckless to do this indoors, but I guess it's time to step it up!_

Lycoris aims at Sonic and fires more seed bombs at Sonic, but this time they looked purple instead of green, "Have fun with explosive poison seed bombs!"

Sonic spin dashed up the wall and then homing attack the wall, grabbing one of the larger frames on the wall and using it as a shield from the explosion of poison gas. Sonic disappeared in the gas of poison smoke; Lycoris began laughing at his successful victory.

Lycoris stared at the flowing purple smoke, "You fought hard, Sonic; it seems it's only right that I share something with you as a reward for such an entertaining fight."-All of his vines settled down and formed a chair- "A fun fact to know about me: I never met my parents-they abandoned me at birth. The earliest memory I have is of the don; he took me in and raised me as one of his own…"-he balled his hand into a fist- "I'm grateful to him for his kindness, thanks to him I have become quite powerful. The don has a vision for the future of this world, and he has blessed me with the opportunity of becoming the catalyst for that plan…"-he sorted his thoughts for a moment as his mind rushed through all of his future plans- "I'm going to be the flag bearer of a new era that will arrive, I'll be the one who helps usher in change in this country…no, change in this world! Once I've completed my mission on Gordana, I'll pursue my next assignment in changing this world-starting with the United Federation!"-he waits for the smoke to settle, but notices it still hasn't disappeared-but it isn't a worry to him, he's confident that Sonic must be dying- "Strange, isn't it? I'm helping in planning to overthrow the same people I represent? The truth is…the United Federation is corrupt! The government is behind most of the problems that are happening worldwide; they're responsible for the sudden rise of all these nations divisive and militaristic nature, they're responsible for the different alliances that have been created. The twelve saints that serve as the figures of peace and justice are just some powerful figure-heads that all have their own selfish reasons for staying a saint; to be honest, only myself and my senior who ranks at number three in the order are the sensible ones; the rest are too caught up in their own desires to realize who they're serving."-he becomes suspicious of the purple smoke that still dances-"actually, they're even responsible for the event that happened a couple years ago-I believe it was the destruction of some city…"-he narrows his eyes, expecting a response; it was regarded as a notorious event, mainly since Sonic and friends took action to stop Dr. Eggman's attacks and failed in keeping the citizens safe. Sonic and the others received a bad reputation for it-nearly even exiled from the U.F.

The smoke dissolves, but no hedgehog is seen. Lycoris believes Sonic might have evaporated with the poison, since his poison was quite capable after all. He closed his eyes with a smirk and then had a smug look as he stared at the spot where he defeated "the Blue Blur"

"To think I would see your demise before you even grew out your potential…such a shame! I lied earlier when I said I hadn't heard of you before…truth there is that you're very well known. We know of your efforts with G.U.N. and we know about your failed efforts; in a sense, you were blacklisted by the government-not wanted, but blacklisted. No matter where you went in the country, you weren't safe. It was the reason why you disbanded your team and went separate ways, huh? And then you somehow reunited with them and decided to come here and fight us? I guess I'll get a promotion in rank thanks to my disposal of you…sayonara, hedgehog!"

A blue streak and strong wind brushed past Lycoris, and before he could fully catch a glimpse of the phenomenon that had just occurred, he felt a heavy punch connect with his gut. Suddenly, that blue streak broke through the sound barrier-ripping the paint of the wall as it sped around the room and knocking over every piece of furniture. Lycoris was stunned, feeling a sudden fear unlike ever before as he heard a strange sound, one that sounded like a charging sound; A blue ball appeared before him!

"S-S-S-Sonic!?"

The ball began spinning even faster, "You're too slow!"

The blue ball zipped and connected with Lycoris, ricocheting and performing a dozen homing attacks-landing critical hits on the snake! Sonic breaks out of ball form performs a barrage of melee attacks, forcing Lycoris closer to the edge of the of opened window. Sonic halts as he realizes what would happen if he performed yet another hit, and instead grabs Lycoris and throws him back into the middle of the room; Lycoris had bruises and cuts everywhere from the rapid amount of attacks he just received.

"You're lucky that I'm not the killing type…" Sonic said in a stern voice, glaring at Lycoris.

"Why have you spared me…? I tried to kill you!"

Sonic looked out the window to view the calm blue sky, "You remind me of another saint I fought in the past, you're just misunderstood. You mean to do the right thing, but in the wrong way"-to himself-"You're just like Roque."

"No…I think we are the same, Sonic."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, we both believe in what we're fighting for. We refuse to back down to anyone no matter how big and intimidating they may seem, and I know I might be making a stretch here, but I'm willing to talk; I'll tell you everything…"

And so, Lycoris spoke. He informed Sonic on all twelve of the saints, detailing the abilities and behaviors of them all. He even gave more intel about Spade, revealing that Spade was an outlaw regarded as one of the "big four" who had Ice powers.

"That's all I can possibly share…I unfortunately don't know of his whereabouts, but if he's looking for you, and you're looking for him, then your paths shall cross."

Sonic nodded and then exited, leaving Lycoris to be alone and accept his total defeat. Once Sonic disappears from Lycoris' sights, he slams his fist on the floor in frustration. Self-loathing and regret consume him, as he recalled the reason why he was defeated so easily.

"I guess it's that painfully obvious…I can't take a hit. No matter how much I tried in perfecting my defenses, they truly mean nothing once they're penetrated. I can't take down the United Federation if I can't even stop their primary target!"-he looks over at the door where Sonic left from- "Watch your back, Sonic. Your battle with the government has just started!"

Sonic runs through the halls as he searches for Redd Mamba's room, "I got all the information I wanted and then some! Also, I got to learn about the true intentions and history of the United Federation that had been bothering me for the past two years… but I guess I should've asked for the whereabouts of his boss…nah, never mind. Everyone has their pride…but the U.F. huh? To think I'll be picking a fight with the country that basically runs the world. Well, bring it on! This is war!"


	27. Mamba arc: A Father's Revenge

Amy and Cream follow Mr. Rose as he silently leads them through the long hallways; Now that she has a brief period to finally collect her thoughts and think, Amy is bothered by everything that's happened. She thought about one thing the most, her uncle who was murdered trying to rescue her father. She looks at her father, seeing the pink hair of his move with every footstep, and looked at his hands-seeing them balled up in fists; _he must be angry too_ she thought.

Amy stopped in her tracks and looked at the floor, grabbing Cream and her father's attention. "Father…why is this happening? Why were you kidnapped…? Why is Uncle dead…? Why didn't they kill you?"

Mr. Rose could only close his eyes and look at down, for he was to ashamed to face his daughter. "I knew I'd hear those questions eventually…"-he turns around and crosses his arms- "I should first start with why I was abducted. You see, I was abducted because of my connections to the United Federation's president…it seems like Redd Mamba is plotting scheme involving them. When he captured me, he and executives interrogated me brutally-hoping I'd squeal and give in. But I never did, and that's why I was sent to the room where you found me…"-momentarily looking at Cream before he returned his attention to his daughter- "I was spared because Redd Mamba didn't want any news to reach the United Federation that I died, especially since they'd suspect foul play. For that reason, I believe he must have wanted my intel because he knows he cannot beat them the way his organization is currently; he's plotting some specific plan tailored specifically for handling the United Federation."

"But what about Uncle…why did they kill him?" Amy said with emotional pain.

Mr. Rose hesitated for a moment-remembering vividly how his brother died, "He…interfered. Or that is the best term to use…more like, he said to much and bit off more than he can chew…"-he looked down the hall ahead of him- "when Rob arrived, he came in with vengeance and slaughtered many of the guards; even then, Redd wasn't planning to kill him-as long I spoke and betray the United Federation…But Rob, he was sharp. When he found us, he had uncovered Redd's plan and threatened to expose him to the United Federation unless I was released. Because of Rob's threat, Redd made sure to dispose of him immediately before Rob could try anything…and I was forced to witness the whole thing…"-agony grew in his tone as he ended there.

"The U.F…" Cream whispered.

Mr. Rose took out a black mask, "I was able to recover this before he died…he was a true robin hood; always stealing from the rich of other nations to help take care of the poor that live here…"

"That's his signature black eye mask…"

"Have it…" he said handing it to Amy- "You're already using his bows and quiver; this would complete the set."

"But…I…"

He approached his daughter and patted her on the head, "I know he'd be proud to see how much growth you achieved; you looked identical to him earlier…I know you'll become a great successor."

Amy's eyes watered as the last memories of her teacher crept in her mind… _Always make sure to control your breathing, and never give away your location or your target…A young child like yourself should learn to smile more! ...One day, I'll leave my weapons for you…you've come closer and closer to becoming a great archer despite being so young! I can't wait to see how you grow! …hey, make sure to come and visit me anytime…_ -tears fall as Amy shuts her eyes- "I'm sorry I didn't continue my lessons Uncle…I'm so sorry!"

"Amy…don't cry…" Cream said emphatically, feeling her best friend's sadness; Mr. Rose stood silent.

Amy wiped her face, "I…I won't let you down ever again…make sure to watch me from heaven! I'll make you smile brighter than you ever made me!"-she accepts the mask from her father and stares at it, seeing her uncle's initials on the back; she puts on the mask and ties it, now she definitely looks like a professional.

Mr. Rose smiled, "hmm…you really do look like a little like him with that on…anyways, we should continue moving the longer we stay here, the more time we're giving Redd a chance to strategize…"

The three of them continue their way to Redd's room; back in the lobby, Lily and the others returned to the main yard to see Percy and the others had successfully defeated the grunts-securing the perimeter and were now just sitting around enjoying their victory. Percy approached Lily, putting away his axe.

"Sorry for the late arrival but we came in just at the right moment, eh?" he winked, nudging Lily.

"Wait Lily…you don't look so good!" A Sky-blue hedgehog said with concern.

"Don't worry, Chimalis. I just got in a scuffle."

"Well, we have some news about what's going on in the other nations…but now wouldn't be the best time to discuss this; we should focus on retrieving your father…" An orange hedgehog with glasses said, holding a big book in his arm.

"So…shall we head in?" a brown hedgehog said with enthusiasm.

Lily nodded, "That won't be necessary, Borus; I want you and the others to stay here and be on watch in case Redd sends in reinforcements. It seems strange that _this_ would be all he has in his forces. I'll also have Richard and Tails here back you up…"

Richard was shocked by the sudden order, "but your injuries…"

"No arguments, stay with them and aid them; I'll be fine." Lily demanded with a confident smile, showcasing that her resolve was stronger than before.

"We'll leave it to you, then…I'm actually quite glad to hear you had similar suspicions about the reinforcements. The truth is, it feels strange that they would just use their whole entire forces at once…reserves must be coming." The bookworm said, adjusting his glasses.

"And you can bet your life they'll be stronger, Ziyon." Percy responded, crossing his arms while looking at the orange fellow; everyone seemed on board with the plan, but just when Lily was ready to make her exit, she heard someone call her name.

"I have something for you, Lily!" a voice called from afar; when Lily looked up, she saw a light pink hedgehog run over to her-holding a sword in hand.

"Marcie…?"

"I retrieved this during one of our missions over the other countries…I think it'll suit you quite well."

Lily inspected the sword, "I'm not very familiar with the two-sword's style though…"

"If anyone can do it, it's you…"-Percy placed his hand on her shoulder- "get going, you got some ass to kick. Leave this area to us."

As Lily left, Percy's smile disappeared as he looked at the others-then the large castle. He could sense the presence of dozens upon dozens cubed making their way to their location. Percy gripped his axe and glared at the castle, waiting for the soldiers to show up, "On my order, we charge and stuff them in the lobby…"-The soldiers begin flooding out suddenly-"GO!" he yelled; they all begin their attack.

Lily sprints through the hallway and looks back, hearing Percy's command-she knew the fight for them had resumed. "It may only be a handful of them…but their power is that of a hundred men!" Lily grinned, reassured that victory was imminent.

In the conference room sat Redd mamba, sitting in a comfortable chair-looking at a collection of monitors that were displaying footage of everything going on in the castle. He saw his soldiers now engaging in battle outside of the castle, he saw Mr. Rose and the girls heading his way, he saw Sonic also heading his way, and he also saw Lily making her way too. He slammed his fist on the chair, upset in witnessing Lycoris' defeat.

"That damned hedgehog! To think he could defeat Lycoris in such a fashion…"-he looked over at his cane, and then grabbed it- "…I'll handle him myself, along with that old bastard, they'll both learn a lesson! No one harms my child and gets away with it! No one messes with my plans without punishment!"

Redd leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, "These fools just don't understand…my whole reason for taking down the United Federation…"-he closes his eyes forcefully- "It's revenge!"

Redd Mamba, the don of the Mamba family, had two sons of his own before the addition of Lycoris. Lycoris was never told this story because it would surely affect him in the worst way if he learned of the events that served as the fuel to his adopted father's fire to facing the United Federation. It was back when the nation of Gordana was still a turf war between the Roses and the Mambas. The Mambas were losing the turf war rather quickly, and soon, the whole organization would be wiped out unless they could rally a comeback. The Roses were winning mostly because they had the support of the United Federation, who supplied them with high military grade weaponry, and the best of defenses. The Mambas stood no chance like this, but the two sons of Redd Mamba still had enough fight in them; Zabier, the eldest son and future heir to the organization, led a small force of the best men within the organization to go in and launch a sneak attack against the base of the Roses. In this small group, there was his younger brother, Jinco, A younger Ailio who was at the prime of his life as the best hitman in the continent and dozens of capable men; this attack was done without Redd Mamba's permission. Before this attack, Zabier and Redd had gotten into an argument because Redd was deciding to surrender and relocate, but Zabier refused to admit defeat so late in battle when so many comrades had been killed fighting for the Mamba name.

"We can't just quit!" Zabier yelled; he didn't look all that much like Redd, and instead his scales were bronze with his hair being a lighter color than his scales.

"You're just like your mother…stubborn and bashful."

"Leave my mother out of this, you know she'd say the same thing that I'm saying right now."

Redd took out a locket that had a picture of him and his wife; she had the bottom of a serpent but the upper body of a regular human. "This world isn't the same without you anymore…" he whispered heartfully.

"Look, we don't have to bring her up again…I know how painful it is for you to live with that memory…"

"So, you _can_ be understanding at times…"

"Look dad, we just can't quit on the family; we must launch a sneak attack on their base and take the head of their leader."

"That's too risky, son. I understand how you must feel, but I need to look out for the sake of you and your brother…"

"We can fight! Trust us!"

"I refuse…at the break of dawn, I'll announce our surrender."

"Dammit dad!"

Redd walks away with regret, "I hope you'll understand one day…"

Later that night, Zabier convinced Jinco, Ailio and many others who agreed with him to go and launch an attack on the base in hopes of assassinating Mr. Rose. They infiltrated successfully and waged a bloody showdown, but it was when they faced Mr. Rose that everything took a tragic turn. Mr. Rose was enraged by the acts of Zabier and Jinco in the brutal murders and unleashed absolute hell, slaughtering both boys mercilessly; only Ailio managed to escape from the base-everyone else died. When Redd got the news that morning of what happened, he was heartbroken; he surrendered and backed away for a while, refusing to pick a fight with such a powerful enemy.

Redd opened his eyes, "My sons…watch me today, as I take the head of the man who killed you. I restrained myself last time because I didn't want to ruin my plans…but after seeing Lycoris take defeat-it's time I brush off all these concerns and do what I should've done those many years ago…"

Redd makes a cross, and then gripped his cane. He stared down at the footage of Mr. Rose, and his heart began to beat faster, his breath got heavier, and his eyes became sharp with rage, "I'll kill you…!"


	28. Mamba arc: Fight! The Action Begins!

Mr. Rose, Amy, and Cream arrive at a long hallway-in the distance lies a big pair of brown wooden doors with a long red carpet covering the floor leading up to the doors. The trio look at one another, "That's the place…" Mr. Rose said with confirmation.

Cream positioned her arms into a thinking position, "So beyond those doors lies Redd Mamba…how strong is he?"

"Very…in fact, it would help if I gave you some important pointers about who you're going up against."

But before Mr. Rose could begin, he heard a girl's familiar voice- "Dad...! Amy…! Cream…!"

The trio turned around, seeing Lily running towards them. Lily jumped into her father's arms, and cried tears of joy. Just soon after, Amy and Cream heard another familiar voice; Sonic arrived a moment later. Mr. Rose was taken back by Sonic's arrival; he recognized the famous blue blur.

"I took down Lycoris!" Sonic said with boastfulness.

"We handled Ailio…" Cream beamed giving a thumb's up and a wink.

"The twins won't be an issue any longer…and the others are dealing with the grunts."

"Then I'd say this going smoothly…all that's left is Redd Mamba." Sonic decided, cracking his knuckles.

"So, there's five of us now…I'd say these numbers are good, but I must warn you about Redd."-he held up a finger- "Redd Mamba is a user of telepathic abilities. His power is the ability to control the minds of those who possess any kind of extremely unstable thoughts or emotions. Second, he has a cane that he likes to use as a walker-but don't be fooled, that cane is a two-in-one weapon: Gun and Sword. The sheath serves as the gun, made from very high technology from countries of in the western hemisphere. His sword is underneath and is very devastating. His sword can project its power at an incredible range, and what he uses as a projectile is a type of stun liquid that paralyzes you long enough for him to kill you."

"Hmm…that's what we're dealing with? Seems pretty easy with the lineup we got!" Sonic said arrogantly, winking at Mr. Rose; but Mr. Rose wasn't amused, instead he was disturbed by how confident Sonic was in defeating an enemy he'd never met.

The five of them move forward and barge in the room, breaking down the door with a powerful kick from Mr. Rose; to their sights, they see a large room-all the way at the back of the room sat a ton of TV monitors that displayed camera footage. They saw cameras that were displaying some of the rooms that they were in earlier-even the one they were in just now. Across the long conference table sat a huge chair turned around, upon closer look they spotted a hand gripping a cane.

"Ah…so this is what comes to me: the prized item that'd make me millions, the daughters of that accursed man, the hedgehog defeated who my son…"-the chair turns around slightly, and Redd's eyes focus on Mr. Rose- "the accursed man himself: Suhn Rose. I'll wipe the floor with all of you and make you pay for ruining my plans!"

"Too bad, we already know what kind of person you are! This will be over in an instant!" Cream yelled boastfully; Redd grinned.

"Oh? So that means you're aware of my powers?"

"Yeah…after our battle from last time, I knew that I'd face you again…and it definitely helps if my allies were well informed before joining me in battle. Don't expect to brainwash anyone here; we're prepared for your tricks!"

Redd's eyes sharpened and his irises solidified to a scarlet red; he looked around at the opponents in front of him, his eyebrows slanting the closer he got to making eye contact with Suhn. Redd balled his fist and grinned, "It seems despite what warnings you've given them, someone on your side will fall to my control!" Redd guffawed with his tongue sticking out, with drips of saliva dropping as he hissed audibly after the long laugh.

Everyone stood still as stone once they heard him speak the unthinkable; no one dared to move a muscle, fearing the possibility of falling into his trap. They knew of what he could do by brainwash, but they didn't know _how_ he'd brainwash them; for all they know, anything could be possible if he found a target capable. They all had the same idea to stay cautious and observe any suspicious actions, but instead they heard Lily wince in pain.

Lily covered her ears, shut her eyes tightly, and crouched down on the floor-as if to block something out; from the other's point of view, it was as if she was in serious pain. "Get out!" she yelled with terrifying emotion!

 _You know the truth…don't you? Your mind and heart are completely different!_ -a voice in Lily's head echoed, _no matter how hard you try to deny it; you can't! quick, succumb to your desires and unlock your full potential!_

"Shut up!" Lily yelled, pressing harder as veins began to sprout from her head; the sight rattled Amy, seeing this sight from her younger sister. Amy came closer, holding out her hand in concern.

"Lily…don't tell me…"

Tears fell down her face as she slowly began to give in, her lips quivering while she began easing her hands from her head and looking down at the floor in defeat. The voices disgraceful words continued to echo in her ears, ringing louder and louder as more was added to the message, _Envy! Your heart is filled with envy! You claim to have no envy for your older sister, but the truth is that it's the very thing that's eating away at your life. The reason why you never leave Gordana…the reason why your practices as a swordsman and future heiress were hindered…the reason you've been alone…it's all because of her! Face her! Strike down the root of your problems!_

A dark aura emitted Lily, and she stood up-sill looking down; the air was different, it felt corrupted, it felt lonely, but most of all, it didn't feel right. Amy had chills just seeing what had happened to her sister, disturbed by the darkness that radiated from someone she shared such close ties to.

"You…this is all your fault…" Lily shouted angrily, gritting her teeth-looking at her elder sister with the evilest of intentions.

Amy felt hurt, "W-what do you mean…?"

"You just _had_ to leave us to go pursue some hedgehog. You rarely ever contacted us, so everyone would just worry for your safety, and in return become overprotected of me. I never _ever_ got the chance to really taste what the outside world is like because of you! I was forced to stay in this poverty-stricken land! Because of you, I had to wield a blade instead of the bow, because you were already taking lessons from uncle before you up n' left, making him resign from teaching anyone else. Even when I began my practices as a swordsman, my constant reminder of you slowed down my growth, and knowing I could never inherit the family because of your existence only made it worse! Because of you…"-she began to huff and puff- "Because of you, I had to grow up in this world without the guidance of a big sister! You abandoned me!"-she stared down Amy-"I…I wish you were never born!" she screamed; Amy didn't react, she only stood there in acceptance of the cruel words her little sister had for her.

Amy's face darkened, "Are you finished…" she said in a harsh tone, tying up her long hair in a long loose ponytail; the others were shocked by the insensitivity coming from her.

Amy's green eyes were lifeless. She had no feeling whatsoever to the things Lily had been building up. Lily was more enraged by the lack of remorse shown from Amy, and she began teeter between laughing and crying as tears fell down her face while her body shook with frustrated laughter amplifying the more she recalled what her sister said.

"I knew it…you're a no-good waste of an older sister!" Lily said, readying her sword; Amy raised her head a little.

"And you're a spoiled little rat for a sister. It's about time I taught you a lesson in speaking to your elders!" Amy snapped, summoning her hammer.

Inside the room was tense as the two sisters had every intention of fighting-especially to the death by the deadly glares they each displayed in the expressions; Cream tried to step in, but Sonic stopped her before she could get involved.

"It's better to leave this between sisters…We have someone else we must focus on…"

Cream was disturbed by Sonic's comment, "But she's about to fight her sister!? Siblings shouldn't fight like this…"

Sonic gave Cream a look that she'd never seen before-a terrifying one, "Don't you think she already knows that? Look, it's in these types of situations to leave it between the two-people involved…"-he turned to Redd's direction- "We just have to take him down and that should be enough to revert Lily back to normal anyways…"

"FOOL!" Redd snarled. "All I did was let out the dark emotions that she was keeping locked up! Everything she said is from her own heart!"

Amy's glare sharpened as her face darkened, to such a point that the only thing Lily could see on her sister's face was the piercing green eyes that appeared to see right through her. Amy saw nothing but same image from her sister, an angry soul ready to unleash her wrath on the root of her frustration.

Amy tightened her grip on her hammer, Lily tightened her grip on her blade; they both stared each other down with their weapons ready. They charge at each other, yelling loudly with vicious intent, the weapons collide-creating an unpleasant sound from the impact. The recoil from the impact shook their hands a little, but they refused to give in.

Suhn signed, "We can't lose focus of what we came to do…those two will have to figure it out; C'mon, we'll stop Redd."

"I'll show you hell!" Lily screamed, backing away and then projecting a dozen of slashes; Amy batted them away and rolled out the way of the final slash for it was too powerful. Lily sprinted toward Amy with her sword turned away from her, then she took a huge hop to right and then unleashed another projectile slash attack, quickly running at Amy afterwards to pressure her in having to block one attack but accept the other; Amy quickly summoned her bow and summoned a concussion arrow-aiming downward and firing-using the momentum to launch in the air and avoid Lily's lethal strike, and then quickly use the hammer again to bat away the slashes, and then landing on the floor; some of her long hair began to escape from the ponytail.

"Impressive!" Redd applauded, admiring the quick wit of Amy- "I hope you three will be as satisfying to watch as she is."

Sonic charged at Redd with incredible speed, throwing a right jab at his gut and then a powerful kick to the back, sending Redd into the wall. "shut your mouth!"

Redd was angered, to be swiftly handed to blows like that in almost the blink of an eye, it was incredible! Redd got to his feet and grabbed his cane, he unsheathed it-preferring not to use the gun function; his eyes with even redder than before, but that wasn't the terrifying part.

"T-that bloodlust…" Cream said, getting chills.

"He's serious now…" Suhn commented, knowing that Sonic's actions were the exact trigger.

"You damned hedgehog!" Redd yelled with a scary tone as scales begin to cover his body like armor.

Sonic smirked and then tried to do the same thing as before, but before he could get close enough, he back off and regrouped-feeling the dangerous presence from Redd. Sonic eyed that sword, feeling the danger mostly radiate from the blade.

"His sword will be our primary concern…" Sonic said with conviction; Cream and Suhn nodded.

"That blade is too dangerous to engage in battle with; it was a long range for projectile attack, and the longer we let him keep that thing out, the stronger it'll get." Suhn commented.

"We'll need to come up with a plan…" Cream added.

"It looks like for now, we'll have to feel him out and get adjusted to his style of fighting…" Sonic said, dashing towards Redd; Cream gave him some support, firing a round at Redd as she encircled him.

 _I see…they're planning on testing his limits by surrounding and attacking. Sonic will do close range and test Redd's might, while Cream will be firing from a distance to test how well he can react, giving us an indication on what kind of attack we'll use when it gets to crunch time…_ -Suhn smiled- _these are some promising ones!_

Suhn joins in to assist Sonic in close combat against Redd; Redd's dodged every attack possible, but once Suhn joined, Redd backed out and kept a distance. He didn't have a quick time to assess everything since the trio kept pressure on him, forcing him to engage in combat before he could catch his breath. Redd began using his sword for defense, forcing Sonic and Suhn back; Cream kept firing, but Suhn reflected the bullets at her-making her dodge them.

"You all are irritating…" Redd said with clear annoyance, he readied his sword and then charged at them, "I'll show you my power!" he yelled, leaping in the air-preparing to release a powerful strike at Cream; Cream froze in fear of what was about to happen, knowing she couldn't get away fast enough to avoid the attack. Redd crashes into the area Cream was in and a puff of clouds cover that area of the room. Suhn was concerned for Cream's safety, since it appeared like a direct hit; unfortunately, he couldn't go in there and look for Cream since the clouds of dust were thick.

 _Hang in there, Cream…_ Amy thought, glancing over for a moment.


	29. Mamba arc: Sibling's Quarrel

The clouds of dust settled, Cream opens her eyes-astonished that she hadn't taken any damage from that attack. When she looks around from a slightly heightened angle, she realizes that someone is holding her; she feels heat brushing against her fur, yet somehow, the heat wasn't necessarily normal heat-but one with a heavy pressure. She saw a black aura surrounding the person who was holding her, and upon looking up she saw she was in Sonic's arms, seeing he was in his dark form staring her down; his green eyes were so sharp and shiny that they could've pierced her body if they were enemy weapons.

"Sonic…? How did you…?" she whispered; Sonic loosened his grip and slowly put cream down.

Sonic kept his stare, "I couldn't reach you in time unless I went past my personal limit, but I didn't mean to go into this form…"

Cream observed Sonic's body after he set her down; his black fur danced as the aura intensified, swirling around him in a black spiral. For some reason, Sonic looked as though he had better control of this power, differing from before when he fought against GE7. Sonic looked at his hand, observing the black spheres of energy that began to form. Lily awed in amazement, having never seen such a sight like that before; Amy's eyes were locked on Sonic, having seen him transform back into that powerful form. Redd growled in frustration, seeing his attack was a failure; Sonic grinned in response.

"Hey Suhn…I got a plan!" Sonic said boastfully.

"What's on the agenda?"

"I think I know how we'll take down Redd Mamba. Though, I don't think you'll like my idea…"-Sonic dashed over in the blink of an eye and whispered-"Now he can't hear us…look, Redd is a snake, right?"

"Right."

"So, what we're seeing right now isn't his true form, right? It's his form as a snake?"

"Right."

"Then let's force it out of him!"

"Right…"

"Here's the plan: I'm going to annoy and irritate him to the point of him forcing into his final form; the way to do so is to bombard him with attacks that'll keep pressuring him to go to his last resort. I noticed how agitated he got whenever things don't go his way, so I figured the best chance we'll have to beat him is to force him into using his true ability sooner than what he may have expected."

"How…did you think all of that up? Surely you couldn't have thought of all of that just now…?" Suhn said with surprise at Sonic's quick wits.

"I'm a battle genius. Anyhow, Brief Cream on what her assignment is; the way the setup will work is related to our previous attack: I'll engage in close combat and deal with that weapon of his, Cream will support in pressuring him, and for you…I want you to focus on how he fights against me. I figure that when he goes into his snake form, he'll probably retain the same type of fighting style, only slower or faster-potentially. This way, you'll have even more data to work with in how you'll defeat him-of course I'll back you up once we get to that point, but for now the focus is to force him into the snake form."

Sonic dashes away to reclaim Redd's attention; Sonic glanced at Amy, "Hey Ames, stop focusing on me! Remember you have someone to be taking care of right now!"

Amy stopped her gaze on Sonic and returned to Lily; Lily peered at Amy, shaking her head with disapproval. Lily crossed her arms, as though to look down on her elder sister.

"When you left those many years ago for Little Planet…I found it so strange that you'd hurriedly leave in the condition that mom was in…So he's the hedgehog you've been chasing? He's the reason why you left?" she said in an aggravated tone, gripping her sword tighter and unsheathing her second blade.

"Don't bring up our mother!" Amy responded in a stern tone. "You've said quite enough already, I don't want you bringing her up!"

Lily realized she struck a nerve, and grew a smug look- "What's wrong? Guilt got you? If I remember correctly, mom died around the time you were out chasing after Sonic."-Amy couldn't respond; the shame consumed her- "We tried to contact you, but we never got a response."-she clenched her hands-"How dare you…the eldest daughter, not even attend your own mother's funeral!"

Lily throws her main sword at Amy; Amy rolls out the way of the piercing attack, taking a huge leap backward to create some space right after. Lily rushes in the direction she threw her sword, grabbing it, and then making a very sharp turn with both her swords in possession, ready to dish out another attack. Amy could feel the difference in her sister's skills than from before, knowing this girl before had all intentions of killing her. Amy runs, snapping her fingers to summon some arrows to help keep a distance while she comes up with a plan.

 _If I don't do something soon, I'll be screwed!_ Amy thought as she fired a trio of arrows to slow down her sister; Lily deflected them all and increased her speed.

Amy could only run, but the problem was that she was trapped in a room; though the conference room was surprisingly large, it wasn't large enough to contain two battles like this. Amy continued to flee from her sister until she could come up with a plan, looking at the floor and beginning to wonder. But, she'd have to do something quick, because Lily was getting closer! Amy stops in her tracks and looks at the floor with concentration; Lily spotted her moment, jumping in the air with both swords ready to strike, diving into Amy's direction.

"Damn it!" Amy screamed in frustration, taking out a bomb arrow and firing it at the floor before her; the surrounding area is destroyed instantly, and both sisters fall through the giant hole created by Amy.

Rumbling echoed through the room as Sonic and the others had to hold onto something to prevent themselves from falling; Amy's arrow destroyed most of the floor, limiting space for Sonic and company to move around. Amy sits up, coughing while swatting away the dust and debris in the air; she took some heavy damage from that fall, her shirt was slightly burned and torn, and her pants were singed at the calves. Far across from her sat Lily on a pile of debris, her clothes were ripped apart because of the explosion. Amy stared at the ceiling, thinking about all the horrible things she heard her sister say, then thinking about her deceased mother, and the final words that she had with her before her departure. Her mind went blank, vision became fuzzy, and she felt dizzy; slowly, it felt as though she was losing consciousness…


	30. Mamba arc: Fighting The Redd Mamba

The image of her late mother entered her mind, seeing a woman who closely resembled her-only her hair was in a braid over the shoulder-reach down and gently touch her forehead; Amy was stunned by the whole scene, unable to move, feeling nothing but overwhelming emotion consume her.

"You…are you crazy!? You could've killed us!" Lily yelled angrily shutting her eyes-swatting away the dust and debris in the air.

"It's all I could do at that moment…" Amy said as if a matter of fact, holding back tears as the pain intensified, lying down on the floor-looking up at the huge crate she created. "The most I could do is force a draw…I don't want to fight you, Lily…"

Lily struggled to her feet, her knees buckling as she used her sword for support. She peered at her downed sister, the image burning in her mind; Amy was everything like their mother, Altruistic, Loyal, and resilient. As Lily thought about these things, she lost her will to continue fighting, dropping her weapons and limping over to her injured older sister with tears.

"You…you always do something reckless!" she cried, falling on top of her sister; Amy smiled, hugging her sister.

"I'm sorry I haven't been a good sister…I made you lose sight of your goal and up fighting me. I'm sorry Lily, forgive me for everything." Amy cried, blinding herself with her flowing tears; Lily felt heartbroken.

"Don't say that, sis!" Lily cried, burying herself in Amy's chest. "It isn't your fault…I was selfish."

Amy pats Lily on the head, "Seems like we both have something we have to work on; why don't we do it together."

Lily nodded in agreement, relaxing in her sister's arms; Amy's looked up at the floor above her and called out to Sonic and the others, "Sorry everyone, but Lily and I will be dropping out of this one…"

Sonic, Suhn, and Cream all have pleased looks, satisfied that the two sisters have patched up their conflict; this allowed them to go all-out and take down Redd Mamba without any worries. Sonic held up his fist and grinned from ear to ear, amplifying the power of his Dark form; the amount of pressure that he released was incredible, so incredible that a black ball-like aura began to form around him, but it was a swirly one that looked as though Sonic had complete control over, because each time Sonic breathed, the aura reacted to it. Sonic's eyes grew ravenous, growing more and more hungry as the prey before it stood still. Redd could only watch as a monster was being born before his eyes, seeing a terrifying arrogant look in Sonic's eyes; He looked like a man that was ready to devour a soul. Redd growled, feeling Sonic's dominance begin to reign.

"You damned hedgehog!" he yelled with scales beginning to spread across his face; he began to hold himself as he knelt, as if he was restraining his body from continuing to grow. Sonic's grin stayed as wide as ever as he awaited Redd's complete transformation; More scales begin to sprout from Redd's body.

The human had transformed into a serpent! His legs shriveled up and fell off, and his remaining skin finally shed. His long tongue began dance as his teeth took their proper form; Now he completely looked like a snake.

"You did this to me!" the snake said in a rough voice, powering up a frightening aura.

"Now we're finally going at full power, as it should be!" Sonic said with enthusiasm at the tall snake.

Sonic disappears, leaving a black afterimage, and then reappears behind Redd-kneeing him in the back, and then shifting his body's weight to the other side to land a kick to Redd's gut. Sonic disappeared again at an incredible speed, reappearing right before Redd-landing a dozen powerful blows to Redd's guts, making him cough up blood. Sonic jumped back, shaking the blood off his gloves.

"you talk big for someone getting their ass kicked…" Sonic taunted.

"Grrrr…Damn you!" Redd screamed, slithering towards Sonic with danger; Sonic smirks, knowing he's baited the boss.

Redd spits out a red ball of light and it hits the part of the floor where Sonic had just stepped; a small explosion went off. Sonic got launched into a wall, smacking the wall hard. Redd returned to his bipedal form, holding out his hand as more red light began to form into a ball; Sonic got up, brushing off the dirt.

"So, you're ready? I was starting to get bored, y'know, going into this form is pretty taxing as-is." Sonic grinned, crossing his arms-waiting for the obvious attack from Redd.

Redd became irritated, "Don't think acting all lax and composed will help you in this battle! I know how to defeat you…"

Sonic got smug, "prove it, snakehead."

Redd rushed at Sonic with a barrage of attacks, but Sonic calculated them all perfectly and dodged them all. Redd then went for melee attacks, but Sonic's reflexes were top tier-no way would Redd defeat Sonic head-on. Redd's body illuminated red as his rage and frustration increased, "Why won't you take a hit!?"

Redd summons another light-ball, throwing it at Sonic and then making a sprint in the other direction; the ball curved to the right at a marvelous speed while he went left matching the speed. Sonic knew what Redd was up to, _he's looking to do a pincer attack on me…this idiot!_ Sonic curls up into a ball and charges his spin dash, performing a homing attack on the ball and then sticking the landing, but he's met by a large tail whip from Redd, pinned against the wall. Redd laughs with evil intent as he gets Sonic right where he wants him. He opens his mouth, forming a massive ball of light that could possibly kill Sonic at close range.

"Not yet Cream!" Sonic said confidently, "This isn't the opening…please wait a little longer!"

Cream nodded, trusting Sonic. Cream's role in this battle was to fire a single carbon bullet that'll send Redd to his knees; the powerful CP2 pistols were once again back in the spotlight. Suhn kept a distance from the battle, analyzing his best chance to strike. Sonic's vicious eyes peered into Redd's soul, "What are you waiting for, do it!"-Sonic said with eyes hungry for Redd's blood.

Redd startled, loosening his tight grip on Sonic-enough for him to escape; that sudden bloodlust that Redd sensed from Sonic was truly terrifying. Sonic's dark aura powered up again, he grinned showing his sharp teeth with those same hungry eyes ready to devour his prey: Redd. Sonic homing attacks Redd a couple times, then leg sweeps him to the floor, followed by a spin dash that sends Redd upwards, and then Sonic finished off the combo by a backflip kick to the head, sending Redd straight to the floor. Redd became dizzy from the number of attacks and teetered on his feet, swaying form left to right; he just wouldn't go down. Cream closed one eye and targeted Redd's left knee cap.

"Pow!" the gun fired, piercing through Redd's knee; he screams in agony, quickly returning to serpent form, holding his tail.

"Bullseye…" Cream said, turning around walking toward Suhn, holding her hand out for a tag. "He's all yours…" she said.

Suhn tags in for the final blow! He charged up his right fist and stared at the downed snake. "You…kidnapped me, harmed innocent people, used my daughter, made them fight each other! I'm going to send you straight to hell!" he yelled, running toward Redd at full speed with his fist glowing yellow.

Redd bowed down, accepting his punishment. He thought about his deceased sons, his deceased wife, and all the many men he lost in that battle. Redd's tears began to show as Suhn approached him closer, feeling nothing but regret and frustration. "I'm sorry…everyone…" he muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes, preparing for the worse.

Suhn-at full power-punches Redd in the face, so powerfully that it knocks a trio of teeth out of Redd's mouth; Redd falls to the floor with blood trickling from where his teeth used to be. He looks up at the angry Suhn who's still staring at him angrily, so angrily that a vein is popping out. "W-why…didn't you kill me…? Surely your punch could've killed me."

Suhn sighed closing his eyes, "It would be weak to kill you here. After all, you have to live for your wife and sons…"

Redd's eyes water, "Y-you bastard! I don't need your pity! Kill me! Kill me now, dammit!" Redd slammed his head on the floor and cried; Suhn looked away, ashamed of the proud Don of the Mamba family.

"Also…I have sins to atone for. I must atone for the murders I committed to your family…your comrades. Therefore, I must allow you to live." Suhn said a bit selfishly; Redd glared at Suhn.

Redd's anger grew after hearing Suhn, "Don't think I'll _ever_ forgive you, you damned rat." He yelled emotionally.

Suhn lowered his head, "I know, and I won't forgive you for what you've done so far."-He stares at his fist-"But, don't you think this needs to change…? It's becoming taxing having to always be at war with you people…"

"The nation of Gordana has been suffering…" Redd said in a low tone.

"And that needs to change, we should put this all in the past and work toward rebuilding Gordana for the better. will you lend me your aid?"

Redd is baffled, "You want me to help you? Hell no!"

"It's time we put this conflict behind us…"-Suhn holds out his hand-"I want to end this foolish war…for the sake of Gordana."

Redd stared at Suhn's hand with heavy anger, thinking about the things that man just said. The same man that took everything away from him, the same man that forced him to leave his own hometown was now asking for his help.

"I'll be damned if I ever forgive you…But, I care about my people more than you ever would, so I'll unhappily agree to this for now. But watch your back Suhn, I'm going to kill you the moment I have my chance."

Suhn nodded, "And I'll be sure to kick your ass again until you get the memo…"

The two shake hands, officially ending the war between the rival families, for now at least. The resolution went well for the rest involved, as both parties helped the other out, aiding those injured on the Mamba side and apologies from both sides. At the Rose household, there was a celebration party to celebrate Suhn's return as well as the end of the war between the Mambas and Roses. Amy stood over the balcony watching her friends dance by the poolside with her cousins.

Amy hears a knock at the door, "Come in!"

Lily entered, her hands behind her back, and an embarrassed expression on her face; Amy smiled, turning her attention to her sister-crossing her arms. Lily kept silent, blushing, as she revealed what she has hiding behind her back, "Here…"

Amy gasped, "Roses…!? For me…!? But isn't this forbidden love?" Amy joked; Lily blushed harder and shook her head.

"Don't joke about that, that's gross!"

Amy set the flowers on her bed, "Thanks. But why the flowers?"

Lily looked elsewhere, "I felt it's the least I should do to apologize for my behavior back at the Mamba's castle. What I said was out of line."

"But it wasn't you, it was Redd manipulating you."

"No! It was my own suppress thoughts that he manipulated into being said, but nonetheless they were still being harbored; that was wrong."

Amy shook her head, "Don't worry about that, you had your reasons. Besides, what I did back then was terrible…leaving you all alone at such a sensitive age where an older female figure was vital in your life."

"Sis…don't think like that. I'm happy you're back, and…" -she put her hands behind her back- "I was wondering if I could join you and your friends…I think I'd make a great addition to your team."

Amy's mouth dropped, unexpected that her sister would ask such a thing. Lily had a strong resolve in her eyes, "Last night I thought about why you left, and I saw just how strong you've become in the time you've been away; even your character has matured. I thought, that maybe the reason all of this happened was so that I could assist you in the future, I may not be a legendary swordsman or anything, but I'm confident in my ability…and I and I want to go wherever you go…"-she blushes again-"Because you're my big sister, and I love you."

Amy's covered her mouth, holding her chest; her sister had pulled at her heart strings. Amy hugged her immediately, almost suffocating her, "I love you too. I'd enjoy your company on our adventures. But in the end, it comes down to what dad says. Have you asked him about this?" letting go of her little sister.

Lily pouted, "He's being stubborn about it. No answer from him."

"Then let's go there now and find out." Amy said, grabbing her sister's arm and heading to her father's room.


	31. Mamba arc: Resolution

"What do you mean she can't go!?" Amy asked, shocked by her father's answer.

"I forbid her from leaving here…" he said as if knowing what was best for Lily.

Amy shook her head furiously, "I refuse to accept that!"

Lily and Suhn were surprised by Amy's persistence to continue despite the clear rejection; Suhn gets up from his chair and walks over to the window, looking down at the people by the poolside. His two daughters that were before them had grown up so much, so much that he could barely recognize them anymore. His eyes watered after staring at them for a bit, and then he covered his eyes and looked up to the ceiling.

"Scarlett would be proud of your tenacity, Amy…"

Amy's heart dropped and her so did her head; anytime she heard her mother's name it brought pain, "mom…"

"Father, why exactly can I not go…?" Lily interrupted, trying to change the mood from Scarlett.

"I'm not against you leaving, but I need you to stay here and help rebuild Gordana first. Once that is taken care of, I'll gladly let you take your leave."

"So, I've got to help the communities?"

Suhn nodded his head, "Once that's been completed then you're free to make that decision of leaving."

Lily understood, leaving the conversation where it was and taking her exit; Amy followed, preferring not to hear about her mother should her father bring her up again. They met up with the others and told them everything regarding Lily's choices; most of them weren't surprised she wanted to adventure out.

"We could get started right away…" Tails proposed.

"Let's visit some of the homeless shelters and help about." Cream added.

So, they decided on heading immediately to town begin on rebuilding the nation of Gordana, abolishing the corruption that had enrooted itself by starting with the communities. Sonic and some of Amy's cousins delivered food to the homeless shelters across the country, Tails and Cream collaborated with some of the clinics to help take care of the ill. In this brief period, everyone got to know a little bit about the other-learning of each other's goals and ambitions. Amy, Percy, Lily and Chimalis were at the capitol building of Gordana preparing to meet with the prime minister of Gordana about the status of the country and bring news of the joining of both sides together.

"While we were doing our missions on neighboring countries, we found some intel that we should share with you. Earlier Sonic said that he's going to deal with the United Federation, right?" Percy said, pulling Amy over to the side while the other two walked up the stairs.

Amy seemed alarmed by the seriousness that Percy was emitting, "Yeah…? What did you find?"

Percy looked around and then crossed his arms, "the United Federation is planning to 'discard' us from their operations…while we were infiltrating the government facilities, I overheard one of the congressman from the United Federation talking about what the current agenda is…and I don't like what they're planning."

"Discard…Gordana?"

Percy nodded, "They find our constant conflict with the Mamba family to be a nuisance. But, that's not all I overheard…"

"What else did you hear?"

Percy breathed heavily, "Ethnic cleansing…of the entire continent of Europa. They didn't say when, but they assured that they're planning to do it soon. The country they were talking with was promised to be spared throughout the whole thing in exchange for money and supplies."

"Have you told my father about it? This seems way too extreme…"

Percy nodded, "That's why he's trying to rebuild Gordana, by uniting the two driving forces behind this nation, we'll unite and protect the homeland. But Amy, you're going to continue traveling, right?"

"That _is_ my intention." Amy said with a smug expression.

Percy laughed, "You've definitely changed from when you were young…"

"Nah, I've just found my light-is all."

"Your light…is it Sonic?"

Amy smiled, "It's still that obvious, huh?"

His face softened, "Hey, we're family, aren't we? I'd see that as clear as day…"-his face returned back to being serious- "Please be careful on your adventures, only God knows what that empire will do next."

"It is worrisome that they're making such decisions…but we'll stop them before they ever get that chance. I'll promise you that." Amy said with conviction, holding out a fist; Percy looked at her with understanding, fist bumping.

They met up with Lily and Chimalis and decided to discuss with the leader of Gordana about the future what will happen with Gordana, notifying him about the collaboration of the Mambas and the Roses on trying to heal the country, and the warning given by Percy about the United Federation's eventual backstabbing. He received all news with welcome and understood that if nothing was done that the continent was in trouble. He gave his thanks and dismissed them, thinking long and hard about what would come for the nation of Gordana.

When they returned, Sonic, Tails and Cream ready to depart along with Bunnie, who decided she'd tag along with them to get back to her home in West Island of the Acorn archipelago. Lily saw them off, promising she'd join them as soon as the nation of Gordana improved, to which Amy held out a pinky for a pinky promise. They all got in the SUV and drove, leaving Gordana and making the return to the Emerald republic. After a crazy visit that involved facing a mafia and saint of the United Federation, they finally completed the mission, gaining new allies and discovering bigger objectives. Sonic looks out the window and up at the sky, wondering about the many things on his mind: Spade, the United Federation's corruption, Dr. Eggman's return, the mystery behind his sync with his dark power and the many new challenges that were about to take place. He smiles, looking around to see all the friends with him that'll be there with him on this journey.


	32. Chaotix Mission

After being unexpectedly involved in the conflicts of Gordana, Sonic and team finally arrived back at Sonic's domain, though everyone but Sonic didn't stay put for long; Amy took this opportunity to bolster her archery skills by going to a forest to practice-using some apples as her targets. Cream took this opportunity to show Bunnie around Emerald Republic, visiting the many shops and hotspots; Tails used this time to go and make upgrades to the X-Tornado as well as help out with some of the shops in the town nearby.

Sonic was the only one who decided to rest, knowing he pushed his body past the usual limits this time around; for Sonic, everything he was doing was the opposite of what he'd do when he was younger: settling down in a home, taking rest days, taking it slow and staying in one place instead of running around. But he understood that times were different, no longer could he carelessly aim to just be infinitely fast, he had to take care of his body, and though he loved adventuring, he had to give his body proper rest for the strenuous daily exercise he'd do. Sonic laid down in his bed looking up at the ceiling, thinking about everything that'd happened and what significance it had on the future; soon, he began to think about Knuckles and the Chaotix and how they must be holding up with tracking down Dr. Eggman in his stead.

Somewhere above the heart of the deep blue sea, a giant ship flew at Sonic speed creating ripples of water under it. They were in pursuit of the large egg carrier ahead of them by 350 feet, and slowly losing pace. Knuckles slammed his fist on the chair he was sitting in, yelling orders to Julie-Su and Vector who were both piloting the ship; the Chaotix had been in pursuing Dr. Eggman ever since he fled back on the abandoned naval base.

"Damn! We can't let him escape! We've been on his tail for weeks now!" Knuckles yelled violently; Julie-Su looked to be on her last nerve with Knuckles.

"Captain, we're in our reserves for fuel…at this rate we'll begin to lose altitude in another thirty minutes." Vector said reluctantly, reading all the gauges.

Knuckles made a face, "Tch…fine! But we can't lose track of him; Charmy, Saffron, can I count on you both to follow his tracks while we turn around to fill up? Grab a headset on the way out and keep communication with us, got it?"

"Aye!" Charmy and Saffron responded together, leaving immediately.

Espio crossed his arms, "We can hyper speed to the nearest airport…I'm sure they'll understand once they recognize who we are."

"The key is to hope those two can continue tailing him long enough for us to return…will they be fine?" Mighty asked with concern for the two bumblebees.

"They'll be fine, they're members of the Chaotix after all." Knuckles smiled with conviction.

As the Chaotix made their U-turn to go and get gas, Charmy and Saffron pushed forward to continue pursuit of Dr. Eggman. It was a bright clear afternoon, so the sun was burning right on their bodies in the middle of the ocean; at times, it felt tempting to drop into the water and cool off they thought, but they knew that if they did that they'd be as good as dead since they can survive in water. Charmy kept focused, knowing this was crucial since Dr. Eggman had become so talented enough to mask his presence in anything, should they lose track of him here, they might never see him again until it's too late-when he's possibly taken over a country.

Julie-Su came over the headset, "Testing, testing, can you hear me?"

"Yup, loud and clear!" Saffron said.

"Good, we'll need you guys to keep pursuit of Dr. Eggman-don't get too close or anything of that nature; We know that he can't stay in the air forever, so it's possible that he'll be landing soon. Where he chooses to land could very much be his secret base, so use this opportunity to do recon on the area so we can plot a strategy of infiltrating and taking him down from both the inside and outside.

"Copy that. We'll do the best we can!" Charmy said giving the thumbs up to Saffron.

They followed, keeping low and distant so that they wouldn't be spotted; this went on for about 45 minutes until they arrived at a giant jungle island that had an egg-shaped mountain. The island was in the middle of nowhere with nothing but the deep blue sea being the only visible thing for miles upon nautical miles; as they got closer to island, they noticed just how large the jungle was. The ship continued all the way to the egg mountain before landing, but Charmy and Saffron had landed further back at the shore of the island. They knew that if they continued to tail Dr. Eggman that they'd find themselves in grave danger, therefore their safest bet was to stay by the coast where their comrades could pick them up.

Charmy felt restless knowing that so much valuable information was just waiting for him, he looked over at Saffron-who was taking a rest from the long flight. She could see how eager he was to keep exploring, but knew it would be risky to keep this pursuit while in enemy territory. Charmy looks at the shore and radioed in his team: "Charmy here, Saffron and I have made landfall on an island that is currently northwest of where we last met. So far it seems like Dr. Eggman isn't aware of our presence here on the island. As such, I request permission…"

Knuckles radioed in, "What's permission to what?"

Charmy's face turned serious, "Permission to perform recon and gain as much knowledge as possible. I understand it's a huge risk, but we have an opportunity to gain intel about this place."

"Hmm…"-Knuckles went mute for a moment- "Permission granted. But have Saffron send your coordinates; we're on our way. If you feel like your life is in danger at any moment…flee the scene and head to safety."

"Roger that…" Charmy nodded, having Saffron send the coordinates as he made his preparations.

Charmy decided to traverse the shore first to see if there might be any security nearby, wanting to make sure that Saffron was safe. After making a huge "U" across the island shore, they were assured that there was no security as far as the shore; this left only the jungle and the egg mountain. Charmy looks at the jungle-feeling a heavy breeze hit him in the face, _I should avoid flying since my wings make a lot of noise and this wind…I still have the advantage because of my small size, so I can blend in with the scenery if I move slowly. And since I'll be in a jungle, I should probably turn off my headset to avoid any trouble since I won't have a connection; radio frequencies will probably go crazy and get static._ Charmy began his walk, slowly and carefully traversing into the windy jungle; he's careful not to step on and branches or twigs, looking down at his feet periodically to be sure.

A few minutes pass by as Charmy gets deeper into the jungle; he begins to hear machinery and the voices of automated machines. Charmy crouches down behind some trees that concealed his presence, but he could still see a little of what was going on. He saw some egg pawns along with some new badniks that he'd never seen before all working diligently and even having a conversation while doing so.

"It's pretty amazing what Lord Eggman has done for us." One of the orange egg pawns said while working on picking fruit from some nearby trees.

"He's come such a long way, creating us to a point where we can even make decisions for ourselves. He truly is our savior…" said one of the new badniks in a chillingly plain voice.

"The defense of this island is also incredible. Thanks to the sensors located all across the island, we can sense when any ship comes with five hundred feet on the island." A third badnik said.

"It's able to fire multiple homing missiles that can sink even the largest or fastest of ships in one shot. This island is nearly impenetrable, and it's only the fi-"

"Don't mention those yet. We must first be vigilant, for there could be an enemy listening to us."

Charmy froze, wondering if he might've been caught. After all, if there were sensors everywhere, that'd mean the Chaotix couldn't rescue them; He thought about returning to notify them, or to continue onwards to get more information. He chose the latter, sneaking forward to avoid alerting the badniks. He knew the information he just got was quite useful, but it'd help if he could at least snag a map or gain more intel about this island. He crouches through the jungle, bypassing many camps of badniks that were all doing regular labor.

He reached an area where there appeared to be a camp of badniks packing up boxes of goods; Charmy scoped the area, finding some maps all the way at a table that had 6 badniks there, playing cards on the maps. Charmy knew the only way he could snag that map was if he created a distraction. He picks up a rock and takes aim at one of the badniks, throwing it and landing a hit on the badnik; the badniks immediately become alert with their eyes glowing red and a small siren going off, luckily it wasn't the kind to alert the whole island, only the badniks that he'd already saw a nearby him in the area. Quickly yet lightly, he shuffles over as the badniks pinpointed where the rock was thrown and all swarm there; Charmy grabbed the map and took another way instead of the route where he came from, knowing that route was gone. He hid behind some trees, hearing from the badniks to return to what they were doing; they thought that the rock must've been carried by the wind. Charmy gathered what he knew from everything that just transpired, piecing together what the situation was likely regarding Dr. Eggman. _It's dangerous if I continue to infiltrate…it's better if I regroup and think of a solution to escape. We'll be dead otherwise, and the Chaotix will be at risk if they get targeted by the homing missiles…that ship can't dodge multiple missiles at once._

Charmy took an alternate route; it was a lucky thing that Charmy explored the shores, because now he knew he didn't have to worry about any guard being there, regardless of where he entered through. He knew more than likely those badniks resumed their normal work-suspecting that his actions earlier were probably something random from the wind. He powered through the windy jungle and returned to the shore where he saw Saffron waiting for him; she'd been on communications with Julie-Su, guiding the Chaotix to their location.

"Wait…! Don't come near the island yet!" Charmy said as he hurried over turning on his headset.

"How come?" both asked.

Charmy explained, giving them all of the details he acquired on his infiltration; the Chaotix were lucky Charmy showed up when he did. Charmy decided that the only way for escape from the island would be to fly away from there since the sensors only detected objects like ships and submarines. Charmy and Saffron flew low by the ocean shore, gradually picking up altitude the further they got away from the island. Once they boarded the ship, the Chaotix decided to meet up at Sonic's home, knowing they'll need his help for this mission.

As they make their exit, a monitor displays the live footage of them leaving; Dr. Eggman sat in comfy chair watching them escape, surrounded by his minions. Orbot and Cubot were confused about his reasoning for allowing them to leave, but Eggman simply watched them leave-laughing. "They think they might've found my hideout base here but they'll have a surprise encounter when they finally get here again." He said as though he was scheming something. _More than likely they'll bring Sonic and company to help them…they'll meet and unfortunate revelation…_ Dr. Eggman's glasses shined, and he gave a guffaw.


	33. Arabian Nights arc: Into The Sand Oasis

Sonic slumbered, his head nodding back and forth as a snot bubble emerged from his nose; the peaceful ambiance and silence was exactly what added to his deep sleep, so bliss like nature itself with the cool A/C blowing on his head from the ceiling. Over on a bookshelf laid many of the souvenirs from Sonic's past adventures: Chip's necklace, His hover board, a couple of red rings, and his storybooks. His book of _One_ _Thousand and One Nights_ began to move, shaking very slowly as it inched its way from the spot it was nestled in; the book continues to wiggle until it teeters over fall to floor, making a huge thud as it hit the floor. Sonic woke up, startled by the sudden noise-he got out of bed immediately, looking around the room to see what caused that noise, spotting the book on the floor; He walks over to see which book fell.

The book began to shake furiously, causing Sonic to approach with caution; he crouches-the book stops shaking-he gets up, and the book shakes again. _Huh!?_ Sonic thought, deciding to crouch the rest of the way since that stopped the book from shaking. The book shot open, startling Sonic, golden sand sprouted from the opened book; soon, a figure appeared from the book, taking form from the golden sand. Sonic was amazed, seeing sand turn into a person, but what was more impressive was that he felt somehow familiar with this scene, as if he'd been through it before. The sand took the form of a genie, one who Sonic knew all too well once he recognized her appearance.

"S-Shahra!?"

Shahra bowed, "My apologies for disturbing you at such a time…but, I need your help."

"What's wrong…?"

Shahra wouldn't say, but in her eyes, there was nothing but pain; Sonic decided to leave that where it is. Shahra cleared her throat, "the world of the Arabian Nights is in ruin…many disasters have taken place, and it's only getting worse by the day."

"How so? is Erazor Djinn back?"

Shahra shook her head, "It's a different calamity that's befallen."

Sonic thought for a moment, "I really shouldn't be doing anything strenuous now…"-he stares into Shahra's pleading eyes- "But I guess I can help out this time-for a friend."

Shahra's shocked, "You'll go!? Even if I don't give you the details?"

"Of course, Were friends after all…"-Sonic nodded with a smile- "Send me into the Arabian Nights!"

Shahra nodded, turning him into sand along with herself-returning to the world of the Arabian Nights. They travel through reality, arriving in the land of the Arabian Nights, specifically in the desert. Sonic's head is buried in sand and he can't get out, to which Shahra pulls him out clumsily. Sonic looks up at the open sky above him and at the peaceful desert that surrounds him. Shahra guides him to a nearby town, taking him to canteen to brief him on everything that's going on. Upon entering town, there were many townspeople walking around and about going on doing tasks in their everyday life; Sonic observed their interactions, happy to see people enjoying their lives normally. As they continued their walk through the town, Sonic noticed that something seemed different Shahra-specifically the way he entered this book with her.

 _Didn't she give me a ring when we entered this book…? I had to have a wish and then she granted it…she's the genie of the ring. But, I don't see a ring…and she's even walking normally instead of flying…what happened while I was gone?_ He thought staring at Shahra from behind; "We're almost there…" Shahra said, looking back.

They arrived at a white dome-looking building and in there it was packed with people from all over the Arabian Peninsula who were visiting to hear the wonderful live performances from the entertainers there, delicious food and beverage, and the overall experience of the town itself. Shahra got seats for them and looked at the menu; Sonic was confused by the lax approach of Shahra.

"You wanted to know what was wrong, right?" Shahra said, reading her menu; Sonic nodded, "If I know what's happening, then it'll make everything much better for me in understanding just how important this is."

"You remember King Shahryar…you called him a Dr. Eggman."

"Yeah, I don't like that guy…"-Sonic crossed his arms, leaning back into the booth-"What about him? Last time he wasn't someone evil."

Shahra looked defeated, "I'm married to him…"

"WHAT!?" Sonic yelled as he slammed his hands on the table, leaning forward; everyone in the canteen stopped and looked at him. Everything went back to normal once Sonic apologized for his outburst.

"Why…why do you have to be with _that_ guy? Do you even like him? There must be some reason why you're stuck to him, you're not the kind of person to like scum like him!" Sonic ranted, fully against the idea.

Shahra smiled, "It's heartwarming to see you care so much for my well-being…"-she stared at the table- "But it's as you imagine, I have reason for marrying him…"

"I'm listening…"

"A while after you returned to your world, King Shahryar began to call for all unmarried women of the kingdom to be his brides. Once he married them, he'd kill them the next day after spending the night with them. He continued doing this for about a month before I decided to step up become his bride-against my father's wishes."

"Your father?"

"My father serves as King Shahryar's vizier, which means he's the one who executes said brides…so he was against my decision, but I couldn't let King Shahryar kill any more innocent women."

Sonic understood the situation a bit crossing his arms-staring at Shahra with focus, "Continue…"

Shahra nodded, "After we got married, and the ritual got carried out, he threw me in prison and condemned me to death. I was visited by my sister, who I was supposed to share my last words with along with the king himself. I enlightened him for one thousand and one nights, making sure to keep him from killing me by leaving the stories I'd tell him on a cliffhanger each night. After I had no more stories to tell him, I was hoping he'd have a change of heart and become a good person after learning the morale of the different stories…but, he became even worse. He demanded more stories, and when I couldn't find any more to tell, he sentenced me to death…"

"Then what happened…?"

"I escaped but…"-she began to tear up, holding her hand to her mouth as she looked at the table, feeling emotional pain- "My father…sacrificed his life to allow my sister and I to escape."

Sonic expressed his condolences, "So what about your sister…? How is she? Is she with you?"

Shahra smiled-happy that Sonic cares so much about her sister, "She's fine. We went separate ways; I told her I'd seek your help while she hides in the neighboring town north of here. We can depart for there once it's nightfall; it's cooler at night, albeit more dangerous."

"Don't worry, you've got me." Sonic winked; their beverages arrived a moment later. Sonic had ordered a Malt while Shahra ordered a Strawberry champagne. But before they could take a sip, a gang of grey bandits entered the canteen holding a wanted poster in their hands; Shahra knew right away that meant trouble, and grabbed Sonic, leading him to the back door for their escape.

Sonic didn't ask questions since the situation was obvious, "They're looking for you…guess we'll be leaving early?"

"We've got no choice…"-she with resolve, summoning a fly carpet- "Get on. We can make it to neighboring town before sunrise if we hurry."

Sonic hopped on and they flew away just in time before the bandits could recognize them; Shahra glanced at Sonic, seeing him stare at the ground below, lost in thought. Shahra faces him, "You're admiring the ground pretty intently…"

"oh…!"-realizing he was too focused- "Sorry, I was just thinking of how different this return is…"-he lied back stretching his legs- "I noticed some differences form my first visit to this one."

"How so?"

"Well, for one. I directly got sent into the Sand Oasis instead of going through the Lost Prologue. Another is that instead of wishing to be sent here, you dissolved me into sand and we immediately came here…Shahra, aren't you a ring genie? I notice that you walk normally and can perform things outside your limitations."

Shahra nodded, "Indeed I am a ring genie. But, I've awakened to new power ever since our last encounter. Now, I'm able to grant wishes outside my limits, and I can even control sand…it's as if the gods of the Arabian nights bestowed this power unto me."

"Ooooh so that's why we turned into sand when we left my world."

"Mhm, I'm sure I can be able to assist you in battle more efficiently."

"I'll be needing it!" Sonic said happily.

They continued their travels in the hot sandy desert of Sand Oasis, leaving a huge trail of sand kicking in the air behind them. Sonic blazed through the thick sand, followed by a flying Shahra; another couple of hours until they reached their destination. Sonic noticed something strange about their surroundings, feeling the sand somehow rumble as though there might be something underground.

"Hey Shahra… doesn't anything feel weird to you?" Sonic said, lowering his speed; Shahra looked roundabout the desert, seeing nothing suspicious.

"I can't sense anything unordinary…what's wrong?"

"It feels like we're being hunted…"

Suddenly two giant pincers sprouted from the ground, along with a poison tipped tail that curved; a giant black scorpion appeared before them, an intimidating foe that was as big as a tower. Sonic and sunk his feet into the sand, prepared for a fight; Shahra looked unimpressed by the giant foe, having a bored expression on her face as the scorpion pinched the air with its massive pincers.

"Leave this one to me, Sonic." Shahra said, stretching while floating; Sonic was surprised by Shahra's sudden confidence, but smirked, knowing she must be tough now.

The scorpion moved around quickly from side to side as it closed in on Shahra, but Shahra kept her cool, instead holding up a hand-sucking up the surround sand into that hand; a swirling ball of sand formed in her hand. The ball hardened, Shahra closed her eyes-focusing her power, relying on her other senses to detect the giant scorpion. The scorpion closed in, readying on of its pincers to attack the still Shahra; Sonic wanted to intervene, but he trusted in Shahra's confidence and decided to only observe.

Shahra's eyes opened, an angry fire in them with her eyebrows slanted. She fires the hard ball of sand in a curving throw, dodging the scorpion's claw; she flew away, creating a whirlwind of sand to contain the scorpion as her attack curled its way into the scorpion's tail. With the scorpion trapped, the ball suddenly picked up speed, and then-FWOOSH! Cleanly the tail was removed from the scorpion's body. The scorpion bled quickly, and being trapped in the whirlwind only hindered its escape.

Shahra flew away, leaving the dangerous creature to die; Sonic was appalled by the sudden change in Shahra's personality, seeing her go from being so friendly to being ruthless. Shahra didn't look back until she was sure the scorpion was dead, knowing the creature's fate had arrived once the whirlwind died. She turned around, looking at Sonic with a face full of regret.

"I'm sorry you had to see that…" she apologized.

"No worries. I just didn't expect to see that side of you…"

Shahra's eyes sharpened, not of anger, but of pain instead- "That scorpion's death is nothing compared to what I witnessed on those one thousand and one nights. There are some things I wish I could just erase from my memories…forget it, let's leave it at that. That scorpion had the most painless death I could possibly give it."

Thanks to the slowdown from dealing with that scorpion, they'd be a few hours behind, but still early enough to arrive before sun down. For Shahra and Sonic, being out in the desert at night at the current moment wouldn't be safe when they're potentially being followed; the best thing to do would be to get Shahra's sister and move from there. But while Sonic and Shahra continued their way to the next town, a mysterious Bedouin dressed in all brown followed them from a far distance, the only thing to be seen as visible from him was his weapon, a golden dagger with a gem fused at the hilt that shined, while the rest of his attire blended in. He breathed heavily as he arrived at the dead scorpion, feeling the corpse for any remains that he could salvage.

"That woman shall pay!" the Bedouin said in a calm yet scary tone.


	34. Arabian Nights arc: Meeting The Bedouin

"This is the town…?" Sonic said, slightly disappointed by the current appearance. It looked bleak, deserted, and poverty stricken-similar to how the poor part of Gordana looked, only it was desert themed. The sun setting background however was nice enough to make up for the bland town since the sun could clearly be seen in the far distance heading to its slumber behind the mountains of sand.

Sonic crossed his arms as they reached the middle of the small merchant town, "Pretty small, have any idea where she might be?"

Shahra shook her head, "She never told me where in town she was staying, she only told me that she'd be here…"

"Well, that's not good…"

"Truly it isn't; we're being followed as it is, any time we waste will lead to a fight that we could've avoided." Shahra said hurriedly, searching for her sister.

It was almost night, and if they couldn't find her while the sun was up, they'd have to settle for spending the night in the town. Going out into the desert at night, although the weather would be cooler, the stronger monsters that lurk would appear-in numbers; the duo would already be at a disadvantage with lack of vision since it's so dark out, but then there'd be the number disadvantage. They decided to stay at a local inn for the night while they prepared to leave in the morning, both deciding that more than likely Shahra's sister wasn't in the town.

"I'm impressed you were able to get us a room with two beds; these rooms are very small…" Sonic said, plopping on one of the beds.

"It wouldn't be a bother to me, but I'm sure someone your age would prefer their own space to rest than sharing with someone of the opposite sex, right?"

Sonic shook his head, "I'd prefer we don't talk about that stuff…"

Shahra nodded, "Of course."

Shahra sat down on her bed, "It's strange for Dunya to be wrong like this…"

Sonic lied down, looking up at the old ceiling- "Maybe they might've found her so she had to escape?"

"That's a possibility…"-Shahra lied down, shifting her body to Sonic- "But even so, she still wouldn't leave without leaving any clues…"

"Why don't we ask around tomorrow?"

During the entire conversation, outside of their room, the Bedouin crouched down with their head to the door, listening to the entire conversation. They made sure to look around each time to be sure no one noticed them eavesdropping, but it wasn't too much worry since the place barely got any customers. The Bedouin snickered, knowing they could ambush the duo at this very moment, but they chose not to, since after hearing their conversation-they found something useful.

 _It appears a comrade of theirs is missing…if I can find any clues on her, I could use it as a bargaining chip._ they thought, walking along to her room.

The next morning, Sonic and Shahra spent the early sunrise asking anyone who was up about Dunya, Shahra's sister; all of it was at a dead end though, so the two decided that it'd be best if they left, trying to avoid any trouble occurring. Unfortunately, the bandits from the other day had arrived very late into the night and were waiting for Sonic and Shahra to leave, blocking both entrances into the town. Sonic and Shahra found themselves surrounded by bandits carrying scimitar-about 50 of them. Both didn't know what to do since the last thing they'd want is to damage the town, but at the same time they didn't want to get captured; they get into a fighting stance, ready for the brawl.

But suddenly, an arrow came from out of nowhere-piercing one of the bandits in the neck, killing him; the other bandits and Sonic and Shahra were alarmed by the stray arrow. Another arrow flew in, striking yet another member, and soon the bandits realized that this wasn't a coincidence-someone was attacking them. A black figure appeared from the top of the inn that was about 500 feet away, and although far away, their green eyes pierced the souls of the bandits she targeted with her bow. They took aim, closing their left eye, using their piercing right eye for vision as they locked in on the target: Shahra; the arrow fired at such an incredible pace that dust flew around the bow after the arrow was released. Shahra didn't notice the arrow was heading in her direction, but Sonic felt the deadly arrow's presence, immediately acting, getting in a running and jumping position. His feet dug into the sand and then lifted as he hopped, leaving behind a disturbingly fast break of wind and a blue streak as he rushed to catch the arrow with his hand and stop it from reaching Shahra in midair: Sonic broke the sound barrier!

The Bedouin was intrigued by what they just witnessed, seeing something move so fast that the naked eye couldn't even process it. _He's the one! Ali Baba mentioned he was fast…but even I had my doubts!_ The Bedouin thought as they watched Sonic perform something even more impressive; as if in slow motion, Sonic took the same arrow that he caught and did a corkscrew spin in midair-throwing that same arrow in mid-spin, landing it on the guy that appeared to be the leader of the bandits, hitting him in the foot. It looked painful from the reaction of the bandit, who cried in pain, feeling the intense burn of the arrow drill his foot in the sand. Sonic stood before him, crossing his arms with a terrifying death stare; the bandit begged for mercy.

"You've got some nerve trying to ambush us…"-Sonic's death stare intensified- "the person who shot those arrows, show yourself!" he yelled, looking in the direction of where the arrows fired; the Bedouin hopped from the top of the building, doing a front flip-landing. they had their bow in their hand and had their face covered by wrappings, only their green eyes showing; Sonic felt familiarity once he locked eyes with the archer.

"I'm guessing you must be pretty good if I had to use my Sonic speed…" Sonic laughed, putting away his serious side for the moment, sensing that this archer wasn't someone to take lightly.

The commotion from the attempted ambush led to many people coming out to see what was going on; to keep themselves from drawing any more attention than what they already had, the Bedouin decided to have Sonic and Shahra follow them somewhere away from the scene. After they had enough distance away from most of the citizens, they rested behind a set of homes on an old discarded carpet next to some lamps. Sonic sat while Shahra floated, both eyeing the Bedouin the entire time-suspicious.

"No need to stare so hard, I don't mean you any harm…at least not anymore." The Bedouin said in a scratchy voice, but probably from the all the coverings on their head.

"The arrow you fired earlier was no joke; where'd you learn to shoot like that?" Sonic said, impressed by what he saw earlier; the Bedouin thanked him, but didn't revealed where they learned to shoot.

Shahra stared at the Bedouin, "Who are you? And why did you lead us here if you're not going to hurt us?"

"After seeing the blue one catch my arrow, I knew I stood no chance against him should I fight him…"-the Bedouin looked at Sonic in an admirable way- "you're beyond my comprehension. It's no wonder Ali Baba rates you so highly."

"Ali Baba!?" the duo said in unison.

"Do you know him?"

"Of course, he's a friend."

The Bedouin gazed at them for a moment, "I see…"-the Bedouin removes their head coverings, all of it; once Sonic and Shahra see the Bedouin's face, they both are stunned, especially Sonic- "I was wondering when I'd run into you people…" the Bedouin said in a firm feminine tone.

The Bedouin was the Arabian Nights doppelganger of Amy Rose, having the short hair that Amy used to have before she grew it out, the same face, and same kind of weapon: a bow and arrow. The Bedouin put her hands on her hips, analyzing Sonic and Shahra, "My name is Morgiana, I've been traveling all over Sand Oasis in search of allies that can assist me. I think you two are just the ones I've been searching for."

Shahra got upset, "You aimed an arrow at me and nearly killed me!"

Morgiana nodded, "It was supposed to be revenge for killing that scorpion earlier, but your friend there was something I didn't expect."-she turned her attention to Sonic- "Say, how did you do that? There was a point in time where I saw you actually disappear…just how fast are you?"

Sonic smiled wholeheartedly, "I'm as fast as I want to be!"

Morgiana smiled back, "I like you, your attitude is just my type of guy!"

"Well, what do you want with us?" Shahra said, growing more dislike for Morgiana.

Morgiana explained her story for why she was in search of help; it was around the time where King Shahryar was executing brides daily and allowed one bride to entertain him with a story for one thousand and one nights, after that bride escaped, Ali Baba had visited him hoping to calm the king of his madness before he executes more brides; the king didn't take too kindly to Ali Baba's visit, deciding to throw him in prison and execute him; the king decided he'll execute Ali Baba the moment he's captured the escaped bride, and execute them together. Morgiana explained that she wants to rescue Ali Baba, but can't do it alone, nor would Sinbad offer help, so she searched far and wide for any strong allies; unfortunately, many of the people underground refused to commit treason against the king.

"That is why I need your help…" she said with a pained look; Sonic and Shahra looked each other, feeling they should help.

"But why should we help you?" Shahra asked, still unsure about confirming to help.

Morgiana smirked, "Because, I also know you're the escaped the bride…and as for your sister's disappearance she probably got captured by King Shahryar and is being sent back to his palace. If you help me, we can rescue her and Ali Baba, and even fix the king of his madness. But, if you decide not to tell, I could always just rat you out and bargain your life for Ali Baba's…"

A sweat drop came down Shahra's face as she weighed the options, "talk about a negotiator…"-she looked at Sonic, who encouraged her to accept- "Fine. I'll help you, but only because I'm rescuing my sister."

Morgiana smirked, "Fine by me. I was kind of hoping you'd decline so your blue friend and myself could be alone."-she shrugged her shoulders- "But hey, I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too."

The three set off for their departure, leaving the town to make way for the King's palace-to do that, they'll have to cross the desert for a couple of days. They made their preparations, stocking up on supplies for their trip and then set off in the evening, knowing the temperature will be much cooler than in the day. They paced themselves, going at full speed at certain intervals of the hour, then lowering their speed to walking speed at every other. They had two days to plan how they'll face the king and stop his mass killings; The trio were finally about to begin their grand plan: stopping King Shahryar.


	35. Arabian Nights arc: Eve Of The Palace

The arrow pierces the apple at remarkable speed and incredible accuracy, hitting the dead center of the apple; it was the eighth of many more that were laid out across the forest by Amy, who placed about two dozen of them in various parts of the forest to aim at different angles. Amy wiped her forehead, taking a deep breath looking at the arrow in the apple form the distance. _Not good enough…my release feels off!_ She thought, looking at her gloves sternly, then clenching her hands into a fist.

She took another arrow and prepared to shoot, locating the next apple which was located on a branch high in the air towards her left. Amy slowly took a few steps forward and then closed her eyes; she listened to all the sounds around her: the birds chirping, the steady breeze and rustling of trees. Her breathing calmed as an image of the forest appeared in her mind, the location of the apples shined in that very image, after a few seconds, Amy's eyes shot open and she turned around swiftly and fired an arrow as she turned, seeing the arrow miss completely. A sweat drop fell down her face as she looked around quickly to make sure no one saw her blunder and walked over, picking up the arrow with embarrassment.

Little did she know that Cream and Bunnie were giggling a about a mile away, watching her the whole entire time, mainly because they finished their shopping rather early. The duo had promised Amy they'd tag along and join her in practice once they finished, but they caught her in her element and decided not to disturb her until the moment was right. They both continued to watch Amy's practice seeing her knock down three more apples with increased precision. Cream looked at Bunnie, and both nodded-agreeing on an action.

The wind blows, Amy gets in position-ready to fire, when she suddenly halts her motion. She looks out the corner of her left eye, watching the bushes and the trees. Cream leaps out from her right side and fires a round of bullets at Amy, Amy-on instinct-rolls out the way and fires a pair of arrows in Cream's direction. Cream's eyes sharpen as time slows down for her, seeing the deadly arrows come from the same angle but target different areas. Cream acrobatically deflects one of the arrows and dodges the other, flipping her guns and changing their ammo simultaneously; Bunnie leaped from the bushes where Amy suspected and then charged at Amy, bombarding her with a barrage of Melee attacks. Cream joins in to make it a handicap situation; Amy uses her bow to block most of the incoming attacks from the bunny duo, and then does a huge back-flip, taking out an arrow and firing it at an apple that sat on a branch far away-piercing it cleanly like a professional.

Bunnie and Cream were impressed, applauding Amy for the accurate fire. The trio high-fived one another, then continuing with their exercise. Meanwhile in town, Tails worked in his shop building something that thought about while in Gordana. _Using what I created while in Gordana…I can implement the materials I've gathered here to create this…_ Tails thought as he tried to combine a laser-like whip to a hard piece of metal and create a new weapon. For Tails, while he was in Gordana he hatched an idea that he decided to make a reality. Knowing Dr. Eggman, his creations had to have gotten a major upgrade-GE7 was proof of that-and more must be in development. One way to combat against those troublesome mechs as well as powerful foes in the future would be to create a new type of weapon from rare material. The one problem, what material? That was where the formula came in. Tails decided to create light and bottle it up, attempting to make light become a physical object that could be manipulated and used in any way possible. Tails took time to plan it all out in Gordana in secret, but now that he was back home, he could put it into practice and perfect it.

"The possibilities are endless…"-Tails muttered putting on goggles as he began to experiment with the light- "Creating laser weapons from laser arrows to laser swords. If I can produce a decent amount, we'll have an advantage."-he starts the process, getting a hilt from an old sword, placing it on the table where he was working- "Making indestructible laser weapons…I could win a global prize!" he said with a shine in his eye.

Although time moved in the world of the Arabian Nights, it was still the same day in the present world-in fact, it'd only been an hour in Sonic's world since he went in the book; luckily, since only an hour had passed, that meant that no one had returned home to see Sonic missing. In Sonic's room, it looked tidy for the most part-except for the book of the Arabian Nights being opened and on the floor, which made the whole sight look somewhat suspicious. For Sonic, if he wanted to avoid having anyone find out about this adventure-he'd need to wrap up what he was doing in the Arabian Nights, and quickly; the last time he tried to explain a story about his adventures in a book, Amy chased him around town with a hammer.

In the world of the Arabian Nights, the trio were traveling on a magic carpet Shahra had summoned to make their travels go by faster; three days had passed since their encounter in the small town against those bandits and they were closely approaching King Shahryar's palace. Since then, the three had gotten well acquainted, learning about one another's situation and further solidifying their resolve to head into King Shahryar's palace.

During their voyage, the trio had encountered many more creatures like giant serpents and giant lizards in addition to the giant scorpions; they had to be careful since some of them carried quite poisonous abilities, but luckily, Morgiana had quite a versatile amount of stun serum to prevent the enemies from attacking or being killed. For Morgiana, she loved all animals and therefore refused to see any get killed for any reason whatsoever-the reason why she hated Shahra earlier. The three finally saw a massive palace in the horizon with a purple evening sky in the background, the sun setting with the temperature beginning to drop the closer they got to the palace. As Sonic leans over looking off into the distance, he spotted a town that surrounded the palace; lights illuminating the darker the sky got. Sonic kept silent as he assessed the situation about to take place before them; they were about to take on King Sharyar in his palace, but they knew they'll generate attention if they dare revealed themselves, so how could they carry out this plan?

"I'll search for my sister here…" Shahra said with a serious expression, understanding they were closing in on their big mission.

"You think she might be here?" Sonic asked casually, turning her head left to right as he looked at the town.

"My sister wouldn't allow herself to get caught by the king, so she should be somewhere around here. I'll go and look-"

"No." Morgiana interrupted; Shahra looked confused.

"What do you mean, no?"

"You'd put yourself in a pinch by revealing your identity. Remember, the king is looking for you."

"But wouldn't you also be in danger as well? He's aware that you are here if you're close to Ali Baba?"

Sonic sighed closing his eyes, "I'll go in your stead."

The girls gasped with shocked expressions, "But what happens if you get caught…?"

Sonic shrugged his shoulders and then smirked-his body shaking a little as he tried to contain his laughter, "It's not like they can catch me. You guys head to the palace, and I'll meet you there after finding your sister." He said with conviction and a little arrogance.

Shahra shook her head with a look of admiration, "It's amazing that you can possess such an air of confidence…exactly how will you find my sister?"

Sonic smiled, "You said she's quite powerful, right? I think I'll know when I encounter her. Leave it to me." He said pointing a thumb at his chest.

Morgiana stared at Shahra with a serious face, "Then we'll go to the palace and find a way to sneak in. Our goals will differ once we reach there: I'll search for Ali Baba and you'll be taking on King Shahryar."

Shahra nodded, "I'll stop him with my own hands…"-looking at her hands, knowing the difficult task- "He'll be guarded heavily, and I'm sure he'll have cards up his sleeve…"

"Then…"-Morgiana stares at Sonic, her eyes quivering as she observed his features and then looking down and away- "Make sure to find her sister and come to us immediately!"

"You got it!" Sonic winked with a smile.

He hopped off the carpet and glided to the bottom, landing safely in the soft but hot hand. Morgiana gazed at him, smiling until she blushed; Shahra had a grin on her face as she watched Morgiana from the corner of her eye. _I don't know why, but he feels like someone I could…_ her thoughts are interrupted by Shahra, who places her hand on her shoulder. Shahra looks at her with a warm smile and soft eyes.

"I didn't think you were capable of showing such a ladylike side…" Shahra teased; Morgiana got flustered.

"N-No! It's not like that!"

"Don't worry, I have no intention of meddling."-her face turned serious as she turned toward their destination- "I have someone who I must take care of."

Morgiana observed the palace, "We should probably go lower and enter on foot. If we enter through the air, we'll surely gather attention from security."

"No worries, I have no intention of going through the air…"-the carpet lowered nearby a home just about a mile away from the palace entrance- "I know the inside and outside of that palace. More than likely Ali Baba will be in the prisoner's floor further below, and it should be on the far east of the floor and luckily there shouldn't be too bad of security. King Shahryar's floor is the top floor, but the security is suffocating around the there."

"Thanks…I'll meet you after I've retrieved Ali Baba."

The two go to their own locations, Shahra using her flight to bypass ground security and stay low enough to avoid the air security that were in the air on little air boats; Morgiana would have to figure out a way to sneak pass the initial guards; Sonic on the other hand was at the entrance of the town. Sonic's arms are crossed as he grins that the sight before him, seeing many townspeople going about their lives like normal. He immediately notices the many men dressed like security that are posted all around at different posts, identifying them by the weapons that hanged from their belt. Sonic eyed the palace that laid in the background-smirking at the thought of finally getting a chance to beat up this world's Dr. Eggman.

"Let's do this…" he said under his breath, proceeding forward into the town making a sharp right turn to avoid guards that were already visible on the main street.


	36. Arabian Nights arc: Five Seconds Is All

Sonic peeked from behind the building, assessing how many guards were in the area; he saw about eight pairs of guards spread within a few feet of the other. If he went further, he'd probably find more guards together-now he was stuck on whether to go closer and get any intel or if to continue further. He zips from corner to corner in the blink of an eye, arriving at the building right near about four pairs of guards. Sonic stuck his head to the corner, putting his ear out to listen- "I heard some guys are having trouble with a woman a few blocks from here…" one guard said.

"Ah, the one that ran away? Should we go and help?" a concerned guard asked.

Another guard approached them, "Don't worry about it. I heard the traitor Cassim is taking her on right now! The others are on their way here."

"Cassim? You mean the brother of the prisoner Ali Baba?"

"Yes, the one who sold out Ali Baba's treasure to the king-leading to Ali Baba's imprisonment."

Sonic was shocked to hear this, since he thought Morgiana's story was the truth. Could it be that even she didn't know? To Sonic, the situation was starting to seem a little strange, but he now he had a lead on Shahra's sister-heading in the direction where she supposedly was.

A few blocks away from where Sonic was, going on at the same time was a battle between a yellow fox that resembled Ali Baba, except he had one tail and wore different garments from that of his brother. He was battling against a woman who resembled shahra, except her hair was purplish blue and wore a traditional bejeweled green headdress with her attire being the same as Shahra's-only green. She was on the ropes, struggling to defend herself against the swift traitor. Earlier, the traitor known as Cassim had found her in the middle of town after searching for her.

"I thought you'd be more of a challenge…Jinni (genie) of the wind!" the fox said with a smug expression, waving both of his scimitar-one had some drops of blood dripping from the sharp side.

She kneeled and held her waist with one hand-wincing in pain as the feeling the blood escaped through her fingers; she was Dunya, Shahra's younger sister-the one who had become a genie that could control the wind. Dunya was a powerful genie, much like her sister, only problem was that as a user of the wind, she'd destroy villages if she wasn't careful, and since she was in a town where many innocent people were very near-some spectators-she couldn't use her powers at too great of strength; Cassim knew this and took heavy advantage, landing some scratches and even a mortal wound.

Dunya looked around, seeing the many people that were observing the fight-noticing plenty of people watch in fear of what Cassim might do; She grits her teeth and rises to her feet. "Traitor of Ali Baba, understand that the only reason you are not dead is because I cannot use the fullest of my abilities here in the town. However, I refuse to be defeated by a fool like you!"

The smug Cassim laughed, "The genie who controls wind, her power amplified when combined with her sister's sand. Of course, I'm aware of your handicap, with this, I can bring you to King Shahryar for your execution!"

"You are foolish to follow King Shahryar…" she winces, looking at her blood covered hand, revealing the sight of the huge gash on her waist.

"My…what a beautiful sight! I wonder what you and sister will look like without your heads…?"

A powerful gush of wind surrounded Dunya, "Stop talking about my sister!"-she rushes at at him creating a solid spear of wind for battle- "Leave..."-the clanging of the spear and short sword intensifies- "my sister out of this!"

They engage in an intense battle that walked a fine line with both weapons clashing-neither able to land a hit; if Dunya used even two-fifths of her wind powers, she'd kill Cassim overwhelmingly-but doing so would look horrifying to the people of the town that were watching, including the children. If Cassim landed another strike like the one to Dunya's waist, he'd have her down for count. He does an outward slash with both short swords, being met by a block from the wind spear; a huge gush of wind pushes both back from the impact. Dunya lands hard on her waist, feeling the hot sand go in her wound; Cassim fell flat on his back, taking deep breaths after an exhausting free for all. Cassim does a kip up, returning to his feet acrobatically as he laughed, feeling victory close.

"To think a simple wound…"-he twirls his weapons- "I'll scratch up that pretty face of yours some more…"-he throws both weapons at her; she closes her eyes, preparing for the worse.

A spinning blue ball appears from nowhere, deflecting both swords into different directions; everyone present awed, seeing something so swift appear at the right moment. Dunya opened her eyes after realizing she didn't get hit, when she looked before her, she saw a blue hedgehog standing before here. Sonic crossed his arms, a serious look his face with his teeth showing.

"You've got some nerve…" Cassim said, retrieving his two blades.

Dunya noticed the description of the blue blur matched the one of the legend she had heard from her sister, the one that her sister had defeated Erazor Djinn with. His blue quills that brushed with the windy air, bright red shoes with a single white stripe on each, and white gloves as pure as his heart. She held her waist, trying to stop more of the blood from pouring out, "Are you…the Aladdin that my sister spoke of? The one faster than the eye can see?"

Sonic looked confused, "Aladdin? No, I'm Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog!" he said in a serious tone, keeping his glare on Cassim. He turned towards Dunya, "I'll handle this guy and then we'll patch you up, ok?"-he said with warmth, resting his hand over her hand- "Your wound is pretty bad, but I'm sure I can find a place to get you wrapped up…"-he helps her up and over to the side near a building by some elders- "Would you kindly allow her to rest here until I finish this mess?"

The elders nodded, and Sonic helped her down; she was stunned by how kind the hedgehog was, but she was skeptical of what he could do once she saw his appearance. Sonic returned to the middle of the area, doing some stretches to loosen up. The audience was captivated by the sight before them: a dangerous duel wielding fox, facing off against, a fast hedgehog.

"I hope you know this fight won't be lasting long…" Sonic said casually, completing his stretches; Cassim nodded in agreement.

"Indeed…I'll cut you up before you can do anything!" he yelled, rushing at Sonic while yelling; Sonic yawned.

Cassim swipes from left to right with both weapons, unable to land a hit on Sonic as Sonic dodged casually with his eyes closed-smiling. Cassim does an acrobatic spin to throw Sonic off balance, but Sonic read it-leg sweeping him; in midair, Cassim aimed his sword and threw it at Sonic's face-grazing the left side of his muzzle. Sonic's eyes dilated as he positioned his feet, then disappearing for a split second. After a split second, Cassim feels a powerful punch to the gut that felt like it slowed down time; blood is coughed as his eye bulged out from the impact. A dozen more punches are landed on the midair Cassim, followed by a powerful kick that sends him flying a few feet back-if only that was the end; Sonic follows up, appearing behind Cassim with a full force punch to the back followed by a homing attack that sends Cassim upwards. Sonic does another homing attack, the performs a combo of punches followed by a front leg axe kick that sends Cassim crashing into the sand. Sonic cracks his knuckles, ready to punish the fox some more; incredibly, Sonic's entire attack lasted about five seconds in real time-truly he was the fastest thing alive.

"W-what just happened!?" one of the townspeople said in amazement.

"I only blinked for a moment and the next thing I see is the fox is completely defeated…" another said, pointing to the crater in the sand.

Sonic sighed, "Guess I went a little too far…"-he walks over and helps up Dunya- "let's find a infirmary…"

Dunya was stunned by what just happened, she couldn't even follow the swift battle-yet she was aware that in that five second span, Sonic completely defeated Cassim with only a scratch to the face. She was impressed to see such a strong character come to her rescue, resting most of her weight on his shoulders, trusting him to keep her safe; he smiled, sensing the newfound trust from her. After he got her wound disinfected and bandaged up, he explained to her everything that had occurred, notifying her that his sister was already in the palace probably confronting the King as they spoke.

"So, you are him…" she said observing his features.

"Yeah, we can marvel about me later. Right now, we need to get going and meet up with your sister…" Sonic said hastily knowing that they were going to soon get followed by the guards he saw earlier; more nuisances he'd have to take care of.

Just as they were ready to get moving, a swarm of guards yelled running towards them. Sonic had cruciform veins pop up on the side of his head, annoyed by the weak enemies that were hindering his progress. Sonic does a charged spin dash into all the enemies, appearing behind them afterwards on one knee as he saw his enemies' blood splatter from their bodies and into the hot sand; Sonic just eliminated a swarm of guards in the matter of a couple seconds.

"In…credible…!" Dunya said, shocked by the speed. _H-he's a monster! He's a true force to be reckoned!_

"Come on, we have to hurry!" he said, grabbing her by the hand and kicking into his faster speeds-blazing through the town, leaving a massive trail of sand flying everywhere as they made their way to King Shahryar's palace. In the palace, King Shahryar sat on his throne lazily, being fed grapes by a beautiful court and fanned by another; he was dressed in the traditional garments of a king from those times, only thing was his classes were still the same. He looked at the sight of dozens upon dozens of women before him-the sight of all the unmarried women left in the town, kneeling before him with their heads bowed. There was enough for him to have executed for another three months. He turned to his vizier, who was making preparation for the next execution after Ali Baba.

"Any word on the capture of your daughter?" King Shahryar said in the same tone that Dr. Eggman would; the vizier shook his head with sweat dripping down his face.

"Both of my daughters have yet to be captured, and Dunya-my youngest, has apparently been rescued by a blue hedgehog that possess unbelievable speed…"

King Shahryar raised his shaven right brow, "So he's returned…"-he recalls his previous encounter with Sonic, remembering how hostile the hedgehog was towards him- "That rat will suffer the moment he steps foot in this palace!"

His vizier nodded, "Your preparations were completed, this palace will be impossible for the likes of him to trespass, not to mention…"- he looks around the entire room, seeing guards encircle the large room- "He'll have heavy manpower to fight against."

King Shahryar guffawed, grabbing the bowl of grapes from his court- "He'll be fried! And I'll have your daughter executed immediately!"

The vizier bowed, the guards bowed, and everyone else in the room bowed down to their king. King Shahryar gets up, devouring the grapes and beholds the sight-sprouting a giant grin and beginning to laugh again.


	37. Arabian Nights arc: King's Palace Act 1

Morgiana peeked from the corner of a building, seeing the guards posted at the gates to King Shahryar's palace suddenly run in some direction yelling for reinforcements as they exited through the front gates; after some time passed and she did her analysis of where to enter, Morgiana took the opportunity given to infiltrate the king's palace. As she entered through the gates, she forward rolled into a shaded area of some small shrubbery-noticing more guards posted inside the main courtyard. She saw a trio of them in front of the palace front door, but off to the sides were two mashrabiya windows: one pair that were closed with patterned designs and another pair that were open-one of each on both sides, that had exterior curtains long enough for her to climb and sneak in from that way; judging by floors, it'd take her to the second floor, although she wanted to start from the first floor since it'd be quicker for her to reach the underground floor-she'd work with what she could.

The windows had huge pots and vases under them, some of them were covered and looked like they would be strong enough for Morgiana to find her footing. She looks at the trio of guards, figuring out that her best chance to smoothly infiltrate would involve her having to the distract the guards for just a moment-long enough for her to climb the curtains. She took out her arrows and aimed at red pot behind one of the guards, then as she focused her aim, she thought about the potential consequence of only making one distraction-they'd pinpoint it was her.

She reached in her bag and pulled out two more arrows, _take this!_ she yelled in her mind, releasing the triplet of arrows. The arrows ricocheted off the floors and the walls, forcing the guards to crouch down and take cover; Morgiana took this moment to run over to the closest open mashrabiya and begin her climb to the second floor. By the time the guards noticed there were no more arrows shooting at them, Morgiana had already made her infiltration onto the second floor. She rolled into the empty room, relieved that her plan worked. She crouches across the floor, unsure if there are any guards nearby or at the door-pressing her ear against the door to sense any footsteps. She could hear a conversation between two guards sounded like it was not too far from the room, and then footsteps that soon became faint. Unfortunately, she couldn't make it too clear what they were saying from the door being so thick, but she was sure she heard something about traps, and plenty of chaos waiting for anyone who tried to intrude.

She was puzzled, _does this mean he's aware of plan? N-no way! Unless…_ -She thought about Sonic and she slowly began to panic- _Could it be that King Shahryar captured the blue one?_ -she shook her head, trying to keep composed- _with speed like that, he couldn't have gotten captured…perhaps he must have created too much attention and alerted the king._ She opens the door slowly to take a peek-seeing no one nearby, "I'll have to hurry this up and rescue Ali baba; more than likely there are traps everywhere and guards posted near them."-she exits the room and begins her infiltration; a few minutes passed, and she arrived at the first floor in a single hallway that had some sharp turns going left, seeing the place didn't have as many guards as she thought-most probably went after Sonic. She tiptoed over to a wall and then rolled to the wall diagonal, quickly hiding at a corner-looking over her shoulder. She saw guards standing around, some walking, and some even taking a nap. She sneaks around, waiting for some guards to walk away before advancing forward. She looks around-double checking that no one is following her. She sneaks past a pair of guards conversing leaning up against the wall, as they turned, she bolted. She arrived at a circle of guards that appeared to be gossiping about something; she couldn't make out what they were saying, so she went closer to hear.

The group of men were laughing, "So they went after the blue hedgehog?" one guard said in a chuckle.

"Yeah, apparently he rescued that lady and defeated Cassim rather swiftly." Another said with a smirk.

"Serves him right, no one likes a traitor-not even King Shahryar!" another guard said; this one was shorter than the other two.

Morgiana was shocked by the news she heard-covering her mouth, _H-he found her sister!? And he defeated Ali Baba's traitorous brother…!?_ -she put her hand to her chest, feeling her heart begin to beat louder as she blushed with a smile- _what an interesting man…_ -she peeked over to listen to more of the conversation.

"So, any word about that prisoner? Cassim's brother?" said a tall guard approaching him.

"No, he's still in the basement below rotting away…I think captain has the keys for there." The short one responded.

"The doors are locked without the captain's keys." The tall man said aloud, but meant for himself.

"And, where is he?"

"He should be a little further down that hall on the third door to your right."

"Thanks, I was given word by King Shahryar to prepare to bring him to be executed."

Morgiana brainstormed, if she could get that key, she'd be fine. The issue however was all the guards that were occupying the area; she needed to get rid of them, the less of them around, the quicker she'd be able to get to the top. She digs through her trusty bad that contained all her stuff and pulled out big purple grenades with a mischievous grin on her face. She looks over, throwing the pack of grenades; the grenades roll to the feet of the guards, and then explode. Purple gas fills the hallways, the guards drop to their knees-collapsing. Morgiana covers her face with her facemask and darts through the room, taking the directions that the guard said earlier. Morgiana followed the directions, and luckily, she didn't run into any other guards-appeared most really did leave. She arrived at the location where the guard who had the keys appeared to be. She turned the knob slowly to see if it might be locked without alarming anyone who might be in there; she felt the stiffness the moment she completed her turn and knew that it was locked, taking out a lock-pick and unlocking it. She barged through, seeing a man reclined in a seat with his feet kicked up on the table and his arms behind his head-snoring, and immediately put him in a headlock; she applied enough pressure until head passed out, and then seized the keys, finding the map and then racing to the basement door.

Ali Baba sat in his prison cell, thinking about everything that happened; he was emotionally scarred by the betrayal of his brother Cassim, but he was mostly disturbed by what King Shahryar was doing. The image of women being beheaded for simply not being married, it haunted him to know that the true reason behind Shahryar's ruthlessness was because woman broke his heart and fled. For Ali Baba, he only came to talk some sense into the king and stop him from committing such a vulgar act. He sat alone in the dark, sticky, smelly cell-seeing nothing but regret in the proteins that swam around in his vision. He buried his head in his arms and knees, beginning to cry at the thought of death. He prayed, shutting his eyes tight as tears streamed, praying to the gods for mercy; the doors unlocked, and as he looked up, he saw Morgiana waiting for him at the entrance to his cell.

"M-Morgiana!?" he said with mixture of shock and relief.

She smiled, "I'd never abandon you, Ali Baba."

Ali Baba hugged her, his tears staining her clothes; she embraced, knowing Ali Baba must have been terrified of everything that happened. She wiped his tears, with her thumb and smiled- "I'm going to make King Shahryar pay!"-Ali baba shook his head in denial, pleading her not to face him- "don't worry, I won't do it alone…I have found someone…"

Meanwhile Shahra was getting closer to the top floor; she two floors away from the top and was readying herself to confront the king. She had done well to avoid the many traps located all over the palace, learning from some guards she hid from that the traps were plentiful on floors 3 and up; she was floor 8 of 10. She makes her way to through the floor, hiding every chance she could-even knocking unsuspecting enemies out and hiding their bodies, making it to the next floor and then the next. She arrives at the tenth floor, seeing many places that had piles of sand everywhere and off to the side. She tiptoes, knowing this floor was the biggest and most heavily guarded floor.

Some guards pass by, but thanks to her quick wits, Shahra transformed into sand-hiding in the sand, closing her eyes since it was the only thing that remained once she turned to sand. She kept her eyes closed, waiting for them to pass by-feeling the vibrations from their feet as they passed. She opened, looking both ways before returning to normal- "That was close…"-wiping away the sweat on her forehead- "I'll need to be more careful."

She continued her way, prepping her mind for what she was about to do-she knew facing him alone wouldn't be wise, but she felt guilty for bringing Sonic into this mess again after achieving incredible power, so she only felt it be fair that she handles this by herself. She arrived at the front doors, pushing them open-seeing the sight of women bowing and praying with platoons of guards surrounding the room; she gulped, entering the room-no turning back, now she had to go through with this. The large doors slam shut, echoing throughout the massive room.

King Shahryar laughs, seeing how easy he had to wait for his wife to return to him-grinning from ear to ear as stopped his guards from attacking, preferring to torment her psychologically before issuing any sort of attack; he wanted to make her suffer for escaping his grasp. She glared at him, clenching her fist as a fire burned in her eyes-seeing the many victims waiting for their slaughter bow at his feet-it disgusted her, and made her want to take the initiative and end it quickly.

"You know, Shahra…"-he sits back in a lax position- "Oh how I've missed you…your beautiful face, delicious body, and enriching tales. Stories that uncaptured my heart and made me believe that you were worth keeping alive…"-he balled up his hand in a fist and slams it against the armrest- "Yet you dare run away…!? Disgusting scum!"-he spits at her, his glasses shining- "I've waited patiently for the day you would come back, not stepping foot outside this room until your return. And now, here you are-before me…"-he rises, looking down on her with his chin raised- "You shall suffer at the hands of my men, experience the consequences of disobeying King Shahryar!"

The guards began to move, but Shahra didn't seem worried-instead her glare intensified. She looked around the room and then at King Shahryar, "Where is my father." She said furiously.

King Shahryar smirked, "Look over there…"-he pointed to his left to an old man sitting on the floor, battered and bruised with scratches covered all over his body; Shahra was horrified by the condition her father was in, her body trembling in anger as her fist raised.

"What did you do to him…"

"He tried to persuade me into not harming you and your sister, such a foolish man he is. As punishment, I had some of my guards beat him until he could no longer move…consider him nothing more than a vegetable!"

Shahra's eyes shook as stared at her father, "Father…!? Father…!" she called out, hoping for any response, but she got none-he sat there helpless, not moving a limb. "Father, please…"-her voice wavered- "Please, don't make your daughter cry…"-it was too late; indeed, her father could no longer function on his own. The guards brutally attacked him enough for his brain to stop functioning- "You…rotten bastard!" Shahra yelled, the fire in her eye burning hotter than the sun, sand swirling around her with remarkable force.

King Shahryar was astonished, seeing the genie of the ring truly become the genie of the sand; Shahra: the genie of sand, was one of the more powerful genies alive. King Shahryar motioned with his hands at his followers; all the bowing women stood to their feet and lined up. Shahra was puzzled by the sight before her-seeing all the women stand before King Shahryar as a meat shield. The king smiled, "If you really want my head, then you'll need to kill these meat shields first!"

"Y-You monster!"

Shahra was stuck, not knowing how to attack him when he had so many innocent people in the way. She stood there for a moment and then stared at one of the weapons in the guard's hands: a spear; a lightbulb went off in her head, and she held her hand out, creating a spear from the sand in her hand. The spear was super hardened hand, but was none of the less, sand-after a few uses, it would break. If Shahra wanted to avoid hurting a mass of people with her sand powers, she'd need to concentrate it into small quantities and attack only at King Shahryar.

"Come at me, Shahra: Genie of the Sand!" King Shahryar taunted, motioning with his hand; Shahra bit her lip angrily, rushing towards King Shahryar but then making a sharp turn and striking a guard dead, stabbing him in the neck with his sand spear; King Shahryar was surprised by the sudden act, but understood very well why she did it. Shahra's fiery eyes sharpened as a glint cut through the fire-shining with a lust for the king's blood; a chilling sight to behold for most of the people that witnessed it, but for King Shahryar, he only smirked-knowing it was only a matter of time.

Shahra rushed forward again, but this time she was met by a trio of guard who ambushed her-all big and buff men with sickles as their weapons. Shahra avoids all their attacks, but they stay persistent-refusing to give her any chance to recover and regroup. One of the guards continues to pressure her with his onslaught of offensive maneuvers while the other two circled around, driving Shahra crazy with the thought that she always must be on edge with the odd not in her favor didn't make her to thrilled.

"You are strong, but can you handle more of these men…!"-more guards rush in to attack; Shahra, recognizes the situation, seeing the numbers game come in to play- "Ready to die?"

Shahra panted as the guards rushed at her; she channels a sand barrier to protect her from all angles, but since she was fatigued, it wouldn't last long. Meanwhile, Sonic and Dunya arrive at the entrance to the first floor; Sonic had been carrying Dunya on his back since she couldn't keep up with his speed like Shahra could. They arrived, seeing many of the guards were already defeated-lying on the floor unconscious. Morgiana and Ali Baba appear from the basement door located to the left; it was a secret door that had been covered by a rug until Morgiana found it. Ali Baba was thankful to be reunited with Sonic, Dunya was relieved to see that the people Sonic was talking about during the trip weren't harmed. They each explained what had happened leading up to their meeting and then decided on the next action: Get to King Shahryar's palace.

"But be careful, I overheard something about traps…" Morgiana said to Sonic.

"More than likely, he's turned the entire palace into one big obstacle course…" Dunya said, knowing from experience that King Shahryar loved to make people complete obstacle based challenges for entertainment, it'd make no difference here.

"Sounds like him, he was joking around about the killings when I confronted him." Ali Baba stated in a thinking pose.

Sonic grinned, "An obstacle course? Sounds like my kind of thing…"-he crossed his arms- "I can speed through this obstacle challenge in no sweat!"

"But how will you carry all of us?" Ali Baba asked, knowing of Sonic's incredible speed.

"Good question…" Sonic said as he thought it over in his head.

Dunya came forward, "I can do it…my wind powers. I can create two air bubbles for them, and the bubbles will follow me since I can control them remotely. All you need to do is carry me like you did before."

"Really?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"We don't have much time; your sister is probably in trouble if she's the only one not here." Morgiana said hastily.

"You're right…we must hurry." Dunya nodded, proceeding with the plan: creating two bubbles for Morgiana and Ali Baba. She hops on Sonic's back, giggling at the sight of Sonic pretending to struggle holding her up.

"Let's go!" Sonic says in a spirited tone, running in the direction that Dunya pointed.


	38. Arabian Nights arc: King's Palace Act 2

Sonic races through the first three floors with ease, only using a fraction of his energy as he passed by seamlessly; Dunya, Morgiana, and Ali Baba were astonished seeing Sonic's speed up close. Sonic could control his speed to a point where he was able to run fast enough to nearly break the sound barrier, but not hard enough that is could hurt someone like Dunya, who'd feel the effects of the hard air pressure and downforce wind from being a problem. Sonic makes a sharp turn at an exterior hallway that has a beautiful view of the town in the background, seeing the orange sky illuminated with sand trickling from the cracks above in the ceiling. Sonic looked ahead, seeing multiple rows of enemies run toward him; he smirked.

"Dunya, on my mark, jump off my back until I take care of these guys. Once they're finished, jump right back on; It might get ugly." Sonic said with seriousness; Dunya followed his directions and let go, floating away to avoid any crossfire for her or her friends.

Sonic curled into a ball and spin dashed into a pack of foes, clearing part of the path. He did a homing attack on one of the leftover men that he missed from the first batch and sent him flying into the second pack of guards. He yelled Dunya's name and she returned; they continued their way to the fifth floor.

They arrived at the fifth floor, seeing more guards than before along with monuments blocking parts of the pathways. Sonic looks at the walls, seeing the walls had enough room for him to be able to run, but the problem would be for how the others would get by. He looked at Dunya, ready to say what was on his mind, but instead he saw her chuckling with a cute expression.

"I know what you're thinking; how are we supposed to get pass this area in the current setup…"-her eyes glow green as she chanted something in a language Sonic couldn't understand; her body became transparent and lighter than before.

Sonic was spooked, "What the heck did you do?"

"I did magic that allowed my body and the others to become as light as air. This way, you don't have to worry about holding me, I shall instead hold onto you…"

Sonic raised an eyebrow, "What if you slip?"

Dunya smiled, "That wasn't the only spell I chanted…"

Sonic looked at her-wary, "You're a human, right?"

Dunya shook her head, "Genies are spiritual beings separate from that of humans. If you're thinking what I'm thinking, then don't be alarmed…it was just a joke…maybe…"

Sonic sighed and mumbled, "I feel like I've been in a situation like this before, my gut tells me something seems wrong if I continue this further."

Sonic grabs Dunya tight and proceeds to Mach 1 speed, surpassing all the enemies in the blink of an eye, destroying the halls as he blazed through with the winds he left behind carrying the destruction. Although he never confirmed, Sonic had experimented with some of his free time testing his speed in any shape or form in preparation of facing tougher foes that extended beyond King Shahryar, and not to mention measure just what speed he averaged. No matter how fast he got, Sonic knew it wasn't his limit and in fact, he was sure he could go further if he really wanted to continue to push himself. Unfortunately, he was aware of the damage his speed could do to his shoes if he wasn't careful, so he monitored his speeds based on how his feet felt. hat if he went pass Mach 1 speed, he'd destroy his surroundings with his incredible speed. All of this came running into his mind as Dunya questioned him about his speed, asking how fast he could go.

"I can go however I feel like, but let's just say if I go too fast, there'll be consequences…" Sonic said quickly, trying his best not to speak for it would disrupt his breathing. After a few moments, they managed to make it past another pair of floors and arrived at the entrance to the final floor that King Shahryar would be waiting on.

The design of this floor looked completely different from the others, combining all traps that they had avoided or succeeded. Sonic crossed his arms as he analyzed the surrounding. Dunya hopped off his back and put her hand up to her mouth, blowing out green sparkles that expanded as they went further. Soon, a green path illuminated before them. It zigged and zagged, swirled, and did some small loops throughout the floor. It was a lucky thing that the ceiling for this floor was extremely high, or else it'd be nearly impossible to pass through.

Giant platforms, Hydraulic presses, and random pits that had mini geysers of sand sprout up at an interval. This was the it, just beyond this floor, King Shahryar awaited. Sonic's eyes shined with determination, wanting to see Shahra and make sure she was safe. Sonic readied himself, telling Dunya to hang on tight: this would be one of his rare occasions of going at a faster speed. Dunya advised him to follow the path that she uncovered for him, notifying that this path was the fastest and safest way to go. Sonic nodded with a confident smile.

"Here we…Go!"

A blue streak is left behind as a break of wind occurs-one that shatters the walls on both sides to the point that the walls crumble and collapse. A speed that no sturdy building could withstand, Sonic followed the green path without hesitation-Dodging each obstacle in an instant but with enough flashy style to impress his friends that observed him from behind; Dunya felt nauseous as her eyes rolled to white, almost passing out-he was going _too_ fast. Sonic drifts around a corner, having to use his hand since curling into a ball would hurt Dunya.

Sonic laughed to himself as he noticed the queasy Dunya, lowering his speed until she regained control and settled down. As Sonic hopped and skipped past the geysers of sand and rising platforms, he saw a giant door in the distance; the goal was in sight! Sonic kicks it into another gear, feeling the anxiousness begin to take over his body. He blazes through the obstacles, moving so fast that his body passed directly through and then stopping directly in front the doors-his shows giving off steam. When he turned around he saw Dunya on the floor behind him, catching her breath heavily as she undid the bubbles for Morgiana and Ali Baba. They were astonished by Sonic's speed, but Sonic didn't have any time to accept their praise-he felt a sinister presence on the other side of that door.

When they saw his facial expression, they knew it was time to get serious; this was their big battle. Sonic grabbed the handles of the doors and pulled, opening to the setting that served as the final fight. A white light shot out the room as ear deafening noise shot out with the disturbing repetitive chants of King Shahryar's name. Sonic's glare sharpened once he noticed the inside of the room, entering with his allies behind him. King Shahryar awaits them, ready to give them a surprise.


End file.
